In its July 2016 decision in AT&T Government Solutions, Inc., the GAO found that the Air Force failed to guard against unfair bidder advantage in a potential conflict of interest situation. As the GAO noted, the federal procurement rules recognize conflict of interest arising out of: (i) biased ground rules; (ii) unequal access to information; and (iii) impaired objectivity. The GAO found that one of the winning bidder’s proposed subcontractors had prior access to information relevant to the bidding process and that the government evaluators had failed to provide a basis for concluding that the potential conflict had been avoided or mitigated. The GAO ordered a re-evaluation and re-award process.
