Trump Pence Kushner & Azar covid-19 supply chain failures far deeper than previously known and it’s maddening
The House OverSight Committee released previously unknown documents to the public. Can someone explain why Navarro, Bannon, Kushner or Trump haven't been indicted?
Today’s news and documents are the progeny of the July 2020 the:
July 2020 Select Subcommittee on the CORONAVIRUS CRISIS
Washington, D.C. (July 15, 2020) Chairman James E. Clyburn and all Democratic Members of the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis have launched an investigation into contracts entered into by the Trump Administration to procure personal protective equipment (PPE), testing supplies, and other medical equipment, and the steps the Administration is taking to address ongoing supply shortages during the coronavirus outbreak.
On July 14, 2020 Select Committee wrote to Secretary Azar, Secretary Esper, Acting Secretary Wolf, and Secretary Wilkie- which reads in part:
“Recent reports indicate that federal agencies awarded contracts to businesses that had political connections to the Trump Administration, lacked federal contracting experience, and had been selected by the White House without competition or transparency. Some of these companies failed to provide the supplies promised. The Select Subcommittee is concerned that these contracting practices may have wasted taxpayer dollars and exacerbated shortages of critical supplies, contributing to the spread of the coronavirus and the death of Americans.”
The July 14, 2020 letter can be found here. And as per the Trump-Administration’s stance, stonewall, deny, ignore and destroy evidence. So it is incredibly important that Congress was able to obtain many documents - Chairman Clyburn also sent letters to seven companies that were awarded questionable contracts, which are embedded below:
Zach Fuentes, LLC, AvMEDICAL, LLC, Phlow Corporation, AirBoss / Immediate Response Technologies, LLC Fillakit, LLC; Federal Government Experts, LLC; and Panthera Worldwide, LLC.
MARCH 31, 2020 UPDATE:
Peter Navarro AND Jared Kushner should retain counsel forthwith
Mr. Navarro exhorted agency officials to rush a $354 million no-bid contract for pharmaceutical ingredients to a newly formed company, Phlow Corporation:
On March 20, 2020, Mr. Navarro wrote to then-Director of the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Agency (BARDA) Rick Bright and HHS Assistant Secretary Dr. Robert Kadlec: “My head is going to explode if this contract does not get immediately approved. This is a travesty. I need PHLOW noticed by Monday morning. This is being screwed up. Let’s move this now. We need to flip the switch and they can’t move until you do. FULL funding as we discussed.”
On March 26, 2020, Mr. Navarro sent an email to Phlow’s CEO and officials at FEMA and HHS: “Phlow needs to be greenlit as soon as humanly possible. … Please move this puppy in Trump time.”
On April 4, 2020, a Phlow consultant commented, “Navarro’s ‘if your contracting people mess this up, you’re fired’ email to Rick and Kadlec several weeks ago was a big deal. CC’ing Navarro cranks up the pressure.”
The Eastman Kodak Trump FUBAR
The Trump White House pushed a failed $765 million loan to the Eastman Kodak Company (Kodak) to manufacture pharmaceutical ingredients, even though the company had no experience in the field and conceded it could not meet Food and Drug Administration (FDA) safety standards
The House Democrats added more documents to their sprawling COVID-19 investigation
March 20, 2020, Kodak wrote to the White House. In which the company offer assistance in manufacturing chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine. Kodak acknowledged in emails to HHS and FDA that it lacked the capacity to meet FDA’s requirements for current good manufacturing practices (cGMP) and would “need a waiver from the FDA’s cGMP requirements.”
Despite Eastman Kodak’s implicit acknowledgement - naturally the Corrupt AF Trump White House continued to aggressively push the audacious proposal. At the expense of other pharmaceutical companies, suppliers and sadly at the mortal peril of many Americans.
April 2, 2020, Kodak executives met with White House officials to discuss Kodak “making the starting materials…as many and as fast as possible.” Mr. Navarro’s staff also entered into discussions with Kodak executives about increasing the size of Kodak’s loan request, which initially was just $15 million.
Thereafter on July 28, 2020, Eastman Kodak signed a letter of intent (LOI) with the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) for a $765 million loan to manufacture pharmaceutical ingredients. The planned agreement was put on hold days later, after the Select Subcommittee, the Financial Services Committee, and the Oversight Committee launched an investigation.
As lawmakers noted - in July 27, 2020 - just one day before the loan award was publicly announced, Kodak’s board of directors awarded 1.75 million stock options to Executive Chairman Continenza. Lawmakers also noted that a nearly 1,500% increase in the value of Kodak stock the week prior, Continenza’s holdings reportedly gained about $83 million in less than two days, with roughly $30 million of that value from gains on the options granted on July 27 alone. To be fair in September of 2020 the “special committee” which was hired by Eastman Kodak cleared the board of any wrongdoing1 notwithstanding the SEC investigation is ongoing
Furthermore the August 4, 2020 Letter from Congress to DFC and in a separate letter to Kodak Executive Chairman James Continenza - which requested the following;
All Records, including Communications related to DFC’s consideration of Kodak, and any component or affiliate thereof, for financing under DFC’s DPA loan program, including but not limited to, all Communications between DFC and Kodak from May 1, 2020 through August 4, 2020; and
All Communications between DFC and any private sector entity regarding financing under DFC’s DPA loan program from May 1, 2020 through August 4, 2020.
Peter Navarro is a one man wrecking crew:
The White House pushed a $96 million proposal to supply powered respirators from AirBoss Defense Group (ADG), without any apparent due diligence or competition:
On March 22, 2020, retired General John “Jack” Keane—a paid consultant to ADG who President Trump had recently awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom—sent an email to Mr. Navarro stating, “sent you a catalog of items that ADG can provide, all needed for fight vs CV19. They can surge.” Mr. Navarro replied, “On it.”
The next day, ADG submitted a $96 million proposal to the White House to supply powered respirators. Mr. Navarro responded that the company should “consider it done” and instructed ADG to begin delivery, even though no contract had been executed and Mr. Navarro had no authority to issue federal contracts.
An ADG executive later sent an email describing a March 25, 2020, call: “I received a call from Mr. Navarro and Dr. Hatfield [sic] telling me that ‘your government appreciates what you can do, and now we need you to trust your government and begin to execute.’ ‘We will get you on contract as quick as we can. Everything you have requested is ok.’”
ADG’s initial delivery of respirators included a packing slip addressed to the White House, stating: “Verbal order of Peter Navarro, Asst to President for Trade & Manufacturing Policy.” White House officials then pushed FEMA to finalize the non-competitive contract.
Newly released documents indicate that Mr. Navarro worked with at least one outside advisor, Steven Hatfill, to negotiated key supply contracts on behalf of the federal government. Versus the normal procedure of using career federal procurement and public health experts to negotiate contracts. As you know, Dr. Hatfill is an adjunct professor at George Washington University and an associate of Stephen Bannon who endorsed hydroxychloroquine as a coronavirus treatment after FDA revoked the drug’s emergency authorization—a view that Mr. Navarro praised. Side note in February 2020 Hatfill appeared on Bannon’s podcast/stream - yet months later Hatfill was negotiating contracts with Nararro and Trump’s approval. WTFINGF
Link to newly released documents:
Memo from Peter Navarro to President Trump
Documents from Phlow Corporation
Documents from Eastman Kodak Company
Documents from AirBoss Defense Group.
Don’t be fooled the investigation is ongoing
Select Subcommittee sent letters, they are seeking additional documents and information on the Trump Administration’s procurement efforts in response to the pandemic. “These document requests are necessary because the Trump Administration repeatedly obstructed the Select Subcommittee’s investigations last year.” See below for the new batch of letters sent today:
Archivist of the United States David S. Ferriero, who is the custodian of presidential records from the Trump Administration, letter to HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra and lastly the letter to DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and FEMA Acting Administrator Bob Fenton.
This isn’t over, not by a long shot. -Filey
The 88 page Special Committee Report - commissioned by Eastman Kodak, last visited March 31, 2021
REPORT TO THE SPECIAL COMMITTEE OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF EASTMAN KODAK COMPANY
two main findings:
“Kodak’s general counsel failed to inform company management about the legal risks of giving its CEO stock option grants just before announcing positive corporate news, the transactions were not illegal and the $100 million donation made by another Kodak executive to a charity and determined that it “did not appear” unlawful”
Welp, this explains Navarro's unhinged rant yesterday...
Q: D'you think Navarro could be charged for his attack(s) on Fauci?
These guys are corrupt as fuck and so are the companies trying to cash in on the grift. So far Kushner has stayed out of the spotlight. I’m counting on karma being the bestest bitch.