Request for Information to Determine Responsibility Does Not Amount to Discussions; GAO B-412278.6, Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation—Costs

Request for recommendation that procuring agency reimburse protest costs is denied, where the protests were not clearly meritorious, because the agency reasonably rebutted allegations of organizational conflicts of interest, which required further development of the record, and because the agency’s request for information needed to determine the awardee’s responsibility did not constitute discussions that were withheld from other offerors.