No other bids, no audit, no claims

Written by

Ophelia Benson

in

Those terms though.

The $300 million contract that was awarded to a tiny electrical firm in Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke’s small Montana hometown to help rebuild Puerto Rico’s power grid was revealed on Friday.

And it contained some startling terms.

First reported by Daily Beast contributor Ken Klippenstein, the contractawarded to Whitefish Energy seems to heavily favor the company.

Like:

  • $79.82 per person for food each day
  • $332.41 per person for accommodations each day
  • More than $40,000 for helicopter-related services
  • It states that, “In no event shall [government bodies] have the right to audit or review the cost and profit elements.”
  • And that the Puerto Rican government “waives any claim against contractor related to delayed completion of work.”

Why would anyone anywhere sign a contract stipulating no audit or review and no claims?

The contract was awarded without a competitive bidding process, Reuters reported, which drew criticism from lawmakers who are now looking into the deal.

No competitive bidding, and ridiculous terms. Nothing suspicious about that, right?

Comments

10 responses to “No other bids, no audit, no claims”

  1. Rob Avatar
    Rob

    Swamp.

  2. Acolyte of Sagan Avatar
    Acolyte of Sagan

    And if this gets tied up in court it will delay work in Peurto Rico and Trump will be merrily blaming the judges.

  3. cazz Avatar
    cazz

    I’m no longer thinking ‘swamp’, I’m thinking Le Brea tar pit.

  4. iknklast Avatar
    iknklast

    cazz, what went through my mind was sewer.

  5. chigau Avatar
    chigau

    $79.82 per person for food each day

    $332.41 per person for accommodations each day

    Are they staying in actual Puerto Rico?

  6. chigau Avatar
    chigau

    PS “More than $40,000 for helicopter-related services”

    The fuelling, servicing, maintaining, and flying helicopters is surreally expensive.

    This number seems too small by a large factor. Another zero, even.

    The crook who put that item on the list didn’t do their homework.

  7. Holms Avatar
    Holms

    “And that the Puerto Rican government “waives any claim against contractor related to delayed completion of work.””

    What an amazing term! They don’t even have to do anything, they can just put randos on the employee list and fuck around in hotels.

  8. Rrr Avatar
    Rrr

    Only thing missing is Trump Hotel. Or is it? Well, it is now:

    He cited Puerto Rico twice before his presidential bid in 2013 to promote the Trump Puerto Rico International Hotel, an enterprise that filed for bankruptcy in 2015. The president’s son, Eric Trump, said in a statement at the time that the Trump Organization had only licensed its name to, and had “nothing to do with the ownership, development or entity” of the hotel.

  9. Rrr Avatar
    Rrr

    In other news: Time’s up for Manafort https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/manafort-and-former-business-partner-asked-to-surrender-in-connection-with-special-counsel-probe/2017/10/30/6fe051f0-bd67-11e7-959c-fe2b598d8c00_story.html

    Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort and his former business partner Rick Gates will turn themselves in on charges stemming from Special Counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s investigation into possible coordination between the Trump campaign and Russia to influence the 2016 election, according to a person familiar with the matter.

    The precise charges the men face were not immediately clear. Gates did not respond to a request for comment, nor did Jason Maloni, a spokesman for Manafort. Manafort was spotted walking into the FBI’s Washington Field Office Monday morning.

  10. Omar Avatar
    Omar

    If it stinks like a skunk and looks like a skunk….

    (Sorry, skunks.)

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