Hospitals say feds are seizing masks and other coronavirus supplies without a word

[Midnightwalk]

Source: LA Times

Although President Trump has directed states and hospitals to secure what supplies they can, the federal government is quietly seizing orders, leaving medical providers across the country in the dark about where the material is going and how they can get what they need to deal with the coronavirus pandemic.

Hospital and clinic officials in seven states described the seizures in interviews over the past week. The Federal Emergency Management Agency is not publicly reporting the acquisitions, despite the outlay of millions of dollars of taxpayer money, nor has the administration detailed how it decides which supplies to seize and where to reroute them.

Officials who’ve had materials seized also say they’ve received no guidance from the government about how or if they will get access to the supplies they ordered. That has stoked concerns about how public funds are being spent and whether the Trump administration is fairly distributing scarce medical supplies.

“In order to have confidence in the distribution system, to know that it is being done in an equitable manner, you have to have transparency,” said Dr. John Hick, an emergency physician at Hennepin Healthcare in Minnesota who has helped develop national emergency preparedness standards through the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine.

Read more: https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.latimes.com/politics/story/2020-04-07/hospitals-washington-seize-coronavirus-supplies%3f_amp=true

---

See the other article about how Massachusetts got by the feds.

[link:https://www.wwlp.com/news/massachusetts/3-million-masks-ordered-by-massachusetts-seized-at-port-of-ny-in-march/|]

[SheltieLover]

1. K&R

🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬

[sheshe2]

2. He really does want us all to die. nt

[OneCrazyDiamond]

58. Only in blue states.

I believe it is a part of his re-election strategy. Look at the explosion of cases in blue states, and where help is sent.

[DENVERPOPS]

66. Why aren't all these states

doing what Boston did????? National Guard and State Police escorts.......I am sure inviting the so called press would be interesting....

[sandensea]

3. The Fat Bastard's hoarding to resell, as well as to use as political rewards/ punishments

Just like the 3rd world-style despot he is.

[MFM008]

42. Agree

[chowder66]

4. Trump and the republicans need to be frogmarched in handcuffs out of Washington DC. nt

[BusyBeingBest]

5. Open up House investigation, start hearings.

Or rather, move this one up to the front of the potential investigation/hearings queue.

[Drum]

6. K&R -- 45's cult are grifting at warp speed, and they must be stopped.

This crew has been inexorably grinding toward this dark age of death, theft, and deafness.

[Hekate]

7. There is a special place in Hell

[cstanleytech]

8. Seized and being resold and or given to the ultra-rich and or well-connected?

[Midnightwalk]

10. Both and used as political weapon

All three can be true at the same time and I believe they are.

[Initech]

9. It's almost like they're trying to cause a Corona genocide.

[fwvinson]

26. Then Frump can claim Martial Law and his dictatorship is complete.

[Jim__]

11. Seizing materials from the hospitals? By what authority can the federal government do that?

Is that actually legal?

[christx30]

24. The government can pretty much take anything it wants

from anyone. If you want to keep what's your's, you pretty much have to hide it or smuggle it, like they did with those masks from china that arrived via the Patriots plane (when did the country turn into a mad libs game?).
Who's going to stop them from taking whats not theirs? Some judge somewhere? Fat chance of that. Trump declared a national emergency, then let it get so bad he can do pretty much anything he wants.
I'm honestly shocked he isn't sending troops door to door collecting toilet paper. Again, hide it, smuggle it, or you will lose it.

[Midnightwalk]

25. Yes but then think about a couple more things

The staties escorted around 200k of the masks to ny.

Maybe it was just as kind of an honor guard. Maybe it was a little bit of thumbing their noses at the feds. Maybe part was actually guarding the masks.

The last is the scary part. What’s that curse about interesting times?

Btw the national guard works for governors doesn’t it? At least up to some point.

[christx30]

29. Until they actually stand in Trump's way

and he decides to Federalize them, like Kennedy did in Alabama. Then they either turn their guns on the NY or MA or whomever's cops and take the supplies again, or they violate the law.
Again, the feds can't take what they can't find.

[ancianita]

34. He can't federalize state police.

[christx30]

38. He can federalze the national guard.

And that was the question. There's no way the state police would stand a chance against the NG if Trump turned them. I'd just hope the troops would show loyalty to their state rather than the national government. But who knows these days.

[ancianita]

40. There was no question, at least not from you. And I answered the person who asked.

You made a claim.

The government can pretty much take anything it wants

from anyone. If you want to keep what's your's, you pretty much have to hide it or smuggle it, like they did with those masks from china that arrived via the Patriots plane (when did the country turn into a mad libs game?).
Who's going to stop them from taking whats not theirs? Some judge somewhere

A governor who runs the state police has state jurisdiction over them. Governors also have state jurisdiction over their local national guards unless there is a directive from the feds for some national problem .

You imply that this president could pit his power against any governor. He can't. He stated as such in his presser show today. He knows that he can't override governor-controlled state police, too.

These confiscations were FEMA's of supplies en route to hospitals.

You can want to be right that the National Guard is federal, but that's not accurate. Additionally, you're turning the NDAA's 2011 change of federal use of them into a legal possibility for overriding of governors. That's not going to happen.

FEMA's doing the confiscating, not some national guards.

MA's governor used his state police and state powers to aid another state. No FEMA task force would have stopped that. And certainly not national guard.

The words national guard, moreover, don't appear in either article.

[getagrip_already]

54. in MA, he doesn't have to - they would voluntarily follow his orders....

The state police here are corrupt to the core. And they are militaristic wannabes.

They would gladly follow hair furor.

[ancianita]

56. Not without leave from the governor. I understand what you mean, though.

We might be walking that thin line, nationally, between the loyalties and the legal oaths law that enforcement contend with. Governors are the ones who can keep local enforcement in line.

Law enforcement, if it's professional, won't even politically decide who's side their health and safety lies with -- the feds or their own state governor. They know.

Just throwing out a recent example in Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, who just replaced her police chief with a chief from Houston who, she trusted, will implement her enforcement policies. Together they're rewriting the policing of Chicago, and the governor backs her up.

[ancianita]

33. Massachusetts State Police aren't under the president's federal jurisdiction and aren't subject

Last edited Wed Apr 8, 2020, 03:06 AM - Edit history (1)

to any commander-in-chief control, and Trump knows it.

The National Guard used to be separate from the US military proper, under states' control, but in the post 9/11 Bush years -- maybe under the Patriot Act or the NDAA of 2011 that formally labeled the US a "battleground" -- they became subject to call ups along with the military, in case the feds needed to use them for disaster relief, etc.

Some governors have refused to allow their National Guard to be used, but so far, under Trump, that hasn't happened.

State Police, State Troopers and Sheriffs are under governors' control. That's stayed the same across presidencies.

[machoneman]

47. Yes, I'm amazed that even up to last week, hospitals/clinics/states were actually telegraphing to...

the Feds the who/what/where/when of shipments they had ordered, paid for and expected air shipment of same.

Knowing what trump's evil minions at FEMA, HHS, etc. have done, why in the world do they keep announcing their scores of needed personal protection gear? Keep it quiet, hide the orders, use unusual delivery routes (i.e. thru Canada, Mexico, Caribbean Islands, et al) to prevent Federal seizures.

[RobinA]

60. Well, The States

aren’t experienced smugglers, so they aren’t knowledgeable about clandestine movement of product. There’s a learning curve to this stuff. They’ll learn eventually. Maybe they can hire some mid level drug kingpins to help them learn the ropes.

[Chemisse]

12. Unfreaking believable!

When the federal government tells you 'f*** you, get your own supplies', and then when you do, they steal your orders before they can arrive.

[Midnightwalk]

16. Make sure to read the other article

On how Massachusetts ran a counter op on the feds

[ancianita]

35. I don't know about counter op, but what MA's governor did was all perfectly legal.

[Midnightwalk]

39. I think it was perfectly legal

Maybe I’m being a bit dark calling it a counter op, but I bet they thought about hiding what they were doing from the feds until it was accomplished.

The part that scares me is the idea of governors having to work at cross purposes to the feds. They are right to do what they need to do to protect us but that makes it more horrible

I still hope this flattens out enough or that trump is no longer there and we can get back to some kind of sanity.

[ancianita]

41. Actually, I take what governors are doing as patriotic and a bright light in the darkness you see.

The Democratic governors are using their brains to outsmart Trump's racketeering. I think it's beyond that. It's downright American patriotism.

I don't think they thought they had to hide what they were doing at all. They've got guns, too, you know. And the force of their governor and state law behind them. FEMA can't override state level transactions. Just hospitals', apparently.

FEMA does its job, but most people in FEMA are not henchmen, just people doing their job while Trump abuses his legal power to order FEMA around. It is a "national disaster," after all.

CA's gov now calls his state a nation state. Which to the rest of the globe, it is, and can be traded with as such. I remember how Venezuelan oil was bought by one northeastern governor when fuel was running out for heat during a particularly bad winter. So governors have global trade. With this hollowed out government these days, they might need to make that work in The People's favor.

When Newsom gets all those millions of supplies and ships them to blue state governors, he will have cockblocked the punishment Trump's administering by favoring distribution to his loyalist governors. We'll get him later in court under RICO law, probably.

[Chemisse]

65. I did! It was awesome what they did to get around the federal grab! n/t

[world wide wally]

13. I think it is safe to say, "We have met the enemy"

[MontanaMama]

14. +1

He has shown us who he is.

[notdarkyet]

30. We need our own army. Like the French underground. Or the American revolution. There are

Ways to fight power.

[SergeStorms]

15. This amounts to murder in my book.

There is no way I could possibly hate another human being (and I sincerely question Trump's classification in that number) as much as I hate that fat, orange, pus-filled piece of shit. There isn't a method of death painful and lingering enough to wish upon that lowlife son-of-a-bitch.

[TryLogic]

17. Crimes against humanity.

[BKDem]

53. I couldn't agree more--and I've been blocked from trying.

I guess there's a line that can't be crossed when wishing Trump the worst.

[SergeStorms]

61. We have to remember.....

that Special Agent Mike may be watching. Hi, Special Agent Mike!

[CloudWatcher]

18. And just where did this guy get his PPE? [Wisconsin GOP leader saying it's safe to vote]

https://www.businessinsider.com/wisconsin-gop-leader-says-voting-safe-dressed-ppe-gear-2020-4?op=1

[SunSeeker]

23. Good question. nt

[TryLogic]

19. Is he saving them for his supporters like white supremacists, brown shirts (red hats),

and ICE officers? What the hell are they doing?

[Dem2theMax]

20. There better be a hell.

May he get Coronavirus, and get his one way ticket very soon.

[scarletwoman]

21. WTF!?!? I mean, really - WTF!

This is seriously fucked up and seriously scary.

[SunSeeker]

22. K & R for exposure.

[calimary]

36. And another kick for exposure!

[NoRoadUntravelled]

27. dRump Told Us This Would Happen

Whenever he is engaged in a corrupt activity he clues us in to what he's up to by accusing others of what he is doing himself.

At the end of March he accused hospitals of hoarding supplies and healthcare workers of stealing them.

[mahina]

28. What the he'll do they think they're doing?

[KY_EnviroGuy]

31. Trump see face masks as the perfect tool for exercising power and control.

That's if folks in a nutshell.

It's almost like having control over the air we breath. This corrupt administration knows what it takes to have leverage over the American people and they seize every opportunity, including turning what should be a daily health PSA into a political shit show.

Impeach the bastard again.............

[ancianita]

43. Yep. If he sells what he's confiscated back to other states, he's racketeering.

It will take some investigating and following the money, but he can be prosecuted, probably, under RICO laws.

[notdarkyet]

32. Somebody stop them.

[dchill]

37. Attempted murder.

It is what it is.

[riversedge]

44. Trump wants his own supply to hand out as political favors. YES

[notdarkyet]

57. Burn down the warehouse.

[duforsure]

45. He's using his power

To keep hospitals from getting supplies on their own so he can use those supplies as a weapon , which shows he doesn't care about Americans health at all. He never has , and never will. He's killing his own supporters to help himself now. I think death starring them in their face now will wake up many of them now.

[Mc Mike]

46. Because of course he is.

Treasonous swine.

[saidsimplesimon]

49. "Treasonous swine", criminals and thieves

The anti-Semites…delight in acting in bad faith, since they seek not to persuade…but to intimidate and disconcert. Sartre(M.Brooks)

[Mc Mike]

50. The worst people in the world. Worst in the history of the world.

[tiptonic]

48. Republican States

I bet the republican states get theirs.

[MuseRider]

55. Not all of them.

Kansas had the nerve to put a Democrat in charge after Brownback/Colyer left and not only that it is a FEMALE Democrat AND she beat Kobach. Our nurses are making their own masks now. Our first shipment was incomplete and the last 7 requests put in over the last 2 weeks were ignored.


























0.

[DetlefK]

51. The Trump-administration has lost illegal immigrant children. CHILDREN, FOR FUCK'S SAKE!

They can't keep track of where they have sent which child. What makes anyone think these guys care about bookkeeping on medical supplies?

[gibraltar72]

52. I thought Governor Newsomes announcement last night was a mistake

Based on what we know Trump and Jared are doing. Announcing you have a supply of masks coming invites Trump to use his powers to intercept them. Jareds store must have stock on the shelves.

[Cryptoad]

59. Trump Cabal at work,,,,,,,,,

[luvallpeeps]

62. This is getting so scary now.

I have such a sick feeling in my stomach and my heart. What kind of fuckery is this praytell?

[keithbvadu2]

63. Republican new seller has 'relationships with a lot of people.'

Republican new seller has 'relationships with a lot of people.'

https://www.democraticunderground.com/10142462680

Republican fundraiser looks to cash in on coronavirus

The fundraiser, Mike Gula, didn’t specify his new line of work in the email. But in an interview, he said he’d started a new company selling medical equipment that’s been in short supply during the coronavirus pandemic.
----------
Asked how he’d managed to procure such equipment when there are shortages in hospitals across the country, Gula said, “I have relationships with a lot of people.”

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

64. Jared Kushner,"We got a new supply of masks for sale."

"Fell off the back off a truck"