• A government contract between the US Marshals Service and IT company CertiPath has drawn protests from other bidders, according to The Washington Post.
  • Since 2013, CertiPath has been partially owned by a firm with links to Robert Trump, the president’s brother.
  • According to the complaint letter seen by the Post, other bidders allege that CertiPath made an effort to obscure Robert Trump’s financial interest in the company.
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A government contract between the US Marshals Service and IT company CertiPath is drawing protests from other bidders because of the company’s connection to President Donald Trump’s brother, Robert, Joshua Partlow at The Washington Post reported.

CertiPath is a Virginia-based IT company that has been owned by a company connected to Robert Trump since 2013. The contract, from the US Marshals Service, is to provide security to federal courthouses and cellblocks, according to the Post.

The Post reported that it saw a July complaint letter from another company bidding on the contract. “The circumstances of this contract award, and what appear to be CertiPath’s efforts to obscure Mr. Robert Trump’s financial interest in the company even as it trades on the Trump name, present the appearance of preferential treatment for those who are close to the President,” the letter said.

The complaint letter also suggested that CertiPath was not qualified to take on the work specified in the contract, given that it primarily provides information technology products rather than physical security.

In CertiPath's response letter, the company wrote that its abilities and technical expertise "speak for themselves" and denied that it had made an attempt to trade on the Trump name or conceal its relationship with Robert Trump.

"Mr. Robert Trump is a minority shareholder as was disclosed on filings by the company with the General Services Administration," the letter reads. "He is not an officer, director, or agent of CertiPath, and took no part in the negotiation or preparation of the successful bid submitted to the United States Marshals Service."

The White House did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment.

This contract would be CertiPath's largest to date. The company has received $6 million in government contracts since Trump took office, the Post reported, but since this contract was awarded in June, no money has been paid to CertiPath. Another company, NMR Consulting, also filed a complaint with the Government Accountability Office in July, and a "stop work order" has been filed, a US Marshals service spokesperson told the Post.

Robert Trump told The New York Post in 2016 that he supports his brother "one thousand percent," and he donated $100,000 to the Trump Victory PAC that year.