U.S. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke listens to a presentation about the merits of a monument offshore of Massachusetts, part of his National Monuments review process, in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S., June 16, 2017. Picture taken June 16, 2017. REUTERS/Brian Snyder - RC1E357BB1C0
After Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA) denied that they approved the multi-million dollar contract between Trump donor Whitefish Energy and Puerto Rico’s power utility and cited “significant concerns,” Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke is running like the wind.
In a statement, Zinke claimed that he had nothing to do with his neighbor getting the contract to do a job the company is not suited for, that is priced so high it stands out for adding rampant waste to its naked corruption. Zinke says he welcomes all investigations into the allegations.
Whitefish is a two-year-old company that had two full time employees when Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico.
As Jason Easley explained earlier this contract is baldly and astonishingly corrupt and anti-American, even for the Trump administration, “According to the contract, the government is not allowed to audit or conduct oversight over Whitefish to see how taxpayer money is being spent or where it is going. The energy company is owned by Trump donors who have connections to Trump Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, and Trump Energy Secretary Rick Perry. Whitefish only has two full-time employees and it not prepared to handle a contract of this size. Whitefish is going to make a hefty sum off of US taxpayers for hiring subcontractors to do the real work in Puerto Rico.”
This is why officials are raising the alarm. House Democratic Whip Steny H. Hoyer (MD) urged the relevant committees in Congress and agency inspectors general to immediately conduct a thorough investigation of this matter, noting the special clause that exempted Whitefish from operating in a democracy while taking your tax dollars, “Each day, more and more concerning questions surrounding the awarding of a lucrative contract to Whitefish Energy are raised. Revelations that the contract contained a provision exempting the company from any federal audit or oversight, in violation of FEMA’s standards, are deeply troubling.”
Watch Zinke run, run, run away.
Listen to Sarah on the PoliticusUSA Pod on The Daily newsletter podcast here.
Sarah has been credentialed to cover President Barack Obama, then VP Joe Biden, 2016 Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, and exclusively interviewed Speaker Nancy Pelosi multiple times and exclusively covered her first home appearance after the first impeachment of then President Donald Trump.
Sarah is two-time Telly award winning video producer and a member of the Society of Professional Journalists.
Connect with Sarah on Post, Mastodon @PoliticusSarah@Journa.Host, & Twitter.
Trump seems to have found his issue for 2024, and it is the scourge of…
Former Rep. Adam Kinzinger is making sure that Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) is being held…
Everyone from President Biden to Sens. Murphy and Booker has called for the passage of…
President Biden urged Americans seeking justice after the video footage of five Memphis police officers…
House Republicans are looking for a way out of their debt ceiling crisis and already…
House Judiciary Committee ranking member Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY) has announced the addition of Rep.…
This website uses cookies.