Amazon donated to nonprofit that opposed new antitrust bills

Amazon quietly donated $400,000 to a conservative nonprofit last year as the group pushed back on antitrust bills being considered in Congress, according to documents reviewed by CNBC.

The Independent Women’s Forum received the six-figure contribution from the e-commerce giant in 2021, which was the same year the group wrote columns speaking out against bills that could strengthen antitrust enforcement.

The donation is tied for the second-highest contribution listed on the documents showing last year’s top donors to the Independent Women’s Forum. Amazon disclosed through annual political engagement statements that the Independent Women’s Forum was among the non-profits to receive at least $10,000 last year and in 2020 from the tech giant. Those disclosures did not list an exact dollar amount for the contributions, however.

Carrie Lukas, the president of the Independent Women’s Forum, said in a letter last year to House Oversight Committee chair Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., that the group “is proud to receive support from a variety of foundations, individuals of all income levels, and from a few corporations. The vast majority of our donors — 89% — are small, individual donors (under $5,000).” The letter came in response to Rep. Jackie Speier, D-Calif., a member of the Oversight Committee, who asked the Independent Women’s Forum who funds the organization.

In addition its advocacy against antitrust legislation, the group also reportedly helped craft a letter opposing schools forcing children to wear Covid-19 protective masks, and its affiliate is reportedly involved in efforts to minimize political blowback to Republicans as a result of the Supreme Court’s decision overturning the constitutional right to abortion.

Last February, Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., introduced a bill that proposed to increase the budget of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division and Federal Trade Commission, both of which have looked into whether big tech companies compete fairly.

Days later, the Independent Women’s Forum published a column with the headline “Sen. Klobuchar’s New Bill: A Dangerous Signal For Big Tech.”

In the article, a director at the group, Patrice Onwuka, name-checks Apple, Google, Facebook, and Amazon, suggests the type of legislation could hurt consumers, and raves about the tech giants. “Big Tech is tremendously beneficial to consumers, small businesses, students, and voters,” Onwuka writes.

In October 2021, Klobuchar and Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, introduced another bill that would give antitrust agencies more ammunition to take on powerful tech companies. That bill, the American Innovation and Choice Online Act would prohibit tech companies from self-preferencing, or favoring their own products and services over competitors. That could affect how Amazon advertises its own products on its web site.

Another…