The Feds Gave a Former White House Official $3 Million to Supply Masks to Navajo Hospitals. Some May

[Judi Lynn]

Source: ProPublica


Zach Fuentes, former deputy chief of staff to President Trump, won the contract just days after registering his company. He sold Chinese masks to the government just as federal regulators were scrutinizing foreign-made equipment.

by Yeganeh Torbati and Derek Willis May 22, 4:10 p.m. EDT



Zach Fuentes on the South Lawn of the White House on Sept. 19, 2018. (Carolyn Kaster/AP Photo)

A former White House aide won a $3 million federal contract to supply respirator masks to Navajo Nation hospitals in New Mexico and Arizona 11 days after he created a company to sell personal protective equipment in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

Zach Fuentes, President Donald Trump’s former deputy chief of staff, secured the deal with the Indian Health Service with limited competitive bidding and no prior federal contracting experience.

The IHS told ProPublica it has found that 247,000 of the masks delivered by Fuentes’ company — at a cost of roughly $800,000 — may be unsuitable for medical use. An additional 130,400, worth about $422,000, are not the type specified in the procurement data, the agency said.

What’s more, the masks Fuentes agreed to provide — Chinese-made KN95s — have come under intense scrutiny from U.S. regulators amid concerns that they offered inadequate protection.

Read more: https://www.propublica.org/article/the-feds-gave-a-former-white-house-official-3-million-to-supply-masks-to-navajo-hospitals-some-may-not-work

[Firestorm49]

1. $2M for him, and $1M slipped back into somebody's slush fund. (Sarcasm?)

[turbinetree]

2. And the Navajo Nation is under a basic siege because of this virus.............

Last edited Sat May 23, 2020, 06:48 PM - Edit history (1)

the same people that were the code talkers .........to help win World War II and they get nothing basically from this administration .............

[HuskyOffset]

19. I think you mean code talkers (NT)

[turbinetree]

24. Wado---------------thank you

corrected..........

[LiberalArkie]

3. Gee, it's not like these people are of good European lineage like all good mericans are.

BARF... but you know that is how they think

[aggiesal]

9. The irony is that ...

almost everyone south of the border, and I mean really deep south of the border are from European lineage!

[KS Toronado]

12. Shame there isn't enough original Americans to kick the Europeans back to where they came from

[Corgigal]

4. Yo, former military members,

seems like someone deserves a blanket party.

[Hotler]

23. or accidently slips on some soap in a public bathroom somewhere. nt.

[progressoid]

5. Good job draining the swamp Donny

[rickford66]

6. Indians will get sick and some will die because of this scum bag.

I hope when Biden is in office, criminal investigations will commence about all the profiteering. Be nice if we could allow the Indians to seek revenge on their own.

[NJCher]

7. not only should the masks come under intense scrutiny

His behavior should, too. He resigned in January, claiming medical reasons. However, we know that the Trump administration knew plenty about this pandemic. This guy was in the White House. He may very well have known what was coming down.

If you look at any of the federal ethics codes, he would have violated quite a number of them. Here's an example:

Employees shall not engage in financial transactions using nonpublic Government information or allow the improper use of such information to further any private interest.

And that's just one. There are many sections that appear to have been violated. Yes, I understand that they were having trouble procuring supplies, and yes, I understand they loosened the rules because they were desperate, but this reeks.

on edit: this is just one of many ethics codes you will find posted at various federal department web sites:

https://www.energy.gov/hc/services/benefits/new-employee-orientation/ethics-fourteen-principles-ethical-conduct-federal

[SergeStorms]

18. Nail, meet hammer.

You hit the nail right on the head. This is another of Trump's "best people", and needs to be investigated like the rest of the grifters in his administration. Every damned one of them is a crook.

[keithbvadu2]

8. "just days after..." - Luckeee, eh?

[aggiesal]

10. I wonder if all the PPE that this guy supplied ...

didn't come from the stolen PPE that governors around the country have reported taken by FEMA.

Things that make you go, hmmmm.

[DURHAM D]

11. My first thought also.

This guy should be hung as should Jared.

[japple]

13. 21st century version of smallpox blankets?

eom?

[LudwigPastorius]

14. Criminals, the lot of them.

[niyad]

15. Backpfeifengesicht for that sneering visage.

[HuskyOffset]

20. When I saw the picture...

...I got a very strong "frat bro" vibe.

[Oppaloopa]

16. Why does this remind me of the small pox blankets?

[JDC]

17. That guy just looks greasy

[iluvtennis]

21. This corruption shit has got to stop. So tired of it. Hurry up Nov 2020. nt

[catrose]

22. Crom forbid we give contracts to establish companies who know how to do the job.

[oasis]

25. Drain the Sewer.