Sen. Cory Gardner gave a non-answer when asked about his ties to a Brazilian meatpacking company tha

[Judi Lynn]

Sen. Cory Gardner gave a non-answer when asked about his ties to a Brazilian meatpacking company that was wracked by a COVID-19 outbreak at its plant in Colorado

Jake Lahut 11 hours ago

In the final debate for his reelection bid, Republican Sen. Cory Gardner of Colorado gave a lengthy non-answer when asked about the COVID-19 outbreak at a meatpacking plant whose parent company donated more to Gardner's campaigns than all but one other member of Congress.

Insider was the first to report on Gardner's ties to JBS meatpacking — the largest meatpacking company in the world — whose plant in Greeley, Colorado, was hit by over 280 coronavirus cases in April.

"I worked very closely with the State of Colorado and Governor [Jared] Polis, and in fact, if you look at the record, you will see that Governor Polis said that any employee at JBS who wants a test can get a test. That's not me saying it, that's not the news saying it, that's Governor Polis saying there were tests for employees if they wanted them," Gardner said on Tuesday.

Since his reelection campaign in 2012, Gardner has pulled in $24,000 from the company's political action committee. Among members of Congress he has received either the most or the second most in total donations from the PAC every time he has run for reelection.

More:
https://www.businessinsider.com/video-sen-cory-gardner-dodges-debate-question-about-jbs-meatpacking-2020-10

Also posted in Late Breaking News:
https://www.democraticunderground.com/10142605080

[Judi Lynn]

1. Does this ring a bell?

Trump administration showers Brazilian crooks with $62M bailout money meant for struggling U.S. farmers
By CHRIS SOMMERFELDT
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS |
MAY 16, 2019 AT 4:20 AM

The Trump administration has forked over more than $62 million — taxpayer cash that was supposed to be earmarked for struggling American farmers — to a massive meatpacking company owned by a couple of corrupt Brazilian brothers.

The Department of Agriculture announced a contract in January to purchase $22.3 million worth of pork from plants operated by JBS USA, a Colorado-based subsidiary of Brazil’s JBS SA, which ranks as the largest meatpacker in the world.

The bailout raised eyebrows from industry insiders at the time, as it was sourced from a $12 billion program meant for American farmers harmed by President Trump’s escalating trade war with China and other countries.

But previously undisclosed purchase reports obtained by the Daily News this week reveal the administration has since issued at least two more bailouts to JBS, even as Trump’s own Justice Department began investigating the meatpacker, whose owners are Joesley and Wesley Batista — two wealthy brothers who have confessed to bribing hundreds of top officials in Brazil.

Both brothers have spent time in jail over the sweeping corruption scandal.

More:
https://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/ny-trump-administration-bailout-farmers-brazilian-criminals-20190516-6rdb3ithvfec7fttem7qrny54y-story.html