Weeks after the island of Puerto Rico was devastated by Hurricane Maria, aid is still getting wrapped up in a political storm instigated by the Trump administration.
Most recently, it was reported that a company from northwest Montana called Whitefish Energy Holdings LLC had signed a contract worth $300 million with the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA) in order to restore power.
Since the storm, the US Army Corps of Engineers claimed that the storm affected 80 percent of Puerto Rico's electrical grid. It's been reported that the first group of employees from Whitefish Energy arrived on September 26.
So far as of last Thursday, 300 subcontractors and employees arrived. A spokesman for the company, Chris Chiames, said that they were looking to rebuild 100 miles of transmission lines. The company said they expect to have a total of 1,000 employees working to restore power.
Whitefish Energy's tied to Trump administration
According to a news release published on the same day claimed that they had already repaired several miles of lines, generally key distribution and transmission lines. Since it was learned that the Montana company got the contract, it was also learned that Whitefish Energy might have ties to President Trump.
This is because the company is based out of the same town where President Trump's Interior Secretary resides, Ryan Zinke. The company claimed that they were already working with PREPA before the Hurricane had hit and when they signed the contract last week, they reportedly only had two full-time employees.
The Mayor of San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulin Cruz demanded on Wednesday that the contract should be voided due to lack of transparency. The mayor has been at odds with President Trump and the victim of political attacks since taking a stand. The company also lashed out at Cruz via Twitter and in a snarky tone questioned whether the mayor wanted them to keep working or return to the United States.
We’ve got 44 linemen rebuilding power lines in your city & 40 more men just arrived. Do you want us to send them back or keep working?— Whitefish Energy (@WhitefishEnergy) October 25, 2017
Investigating Conflicts of Interest
The way in which the company used Twitter to attack the mayor and the style is exactly the same style of attack used by members of the Trump administration which in itself shows a definite connection. Democrats have also called for an investigation into the company's contract, including House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Rob Bishop (R-Utah) whose spokesman said that the contract does raise a number of questions and that they would look into it.
The company's chief executive Andy Techmanski and Zinke admitted to knowing one another on personal terms. Zinke told The Washington Post in an email that it was common in a small town. Zinke said that his son joined a friend who worked with Techmanski who was doing construction as a flagger. Zinke denies that he had anything to do with securing the contract.
The chief executive said that they secured the contract in a more informal process with PREPA through phone calls rather than a bidding process. It should be noted that this too is similar to how the Trump administration has operated, where they too have operated in a more informal approach than any other administration reportedly has.
Spokesman Dismisses Questions About Company Contract as 'Conspiracy Theories'
I reached out to Whitefish Energy on the same day that the company trolled the Puerto Rico mayor to ask them about their response. The line of questioning was over why the company felt it necessary to respond in the same style that Trump had with his critics. Their spokesman, Ken Luce, wanted to respond on the phone but I requested an email response that would preserve their exact comments but I have not received a response since.
However, on Friday, Luce did appear on MSNBC for an interview where they debated over the contract. Anchor Stephanie Ruhle referred to the fact that there had not been other bids considered and that the American Association of Public Utilities (AAPU) were also interested in the contract. Luce said that this was the case of an entrepreneur making an effort to travel to Puerto Rico when no one else would and getting the job.
When Ruhle said that there were legitimate questions about how a small two-year-old company that only had two full-time employees could have gotten the contract, especially one that is based out of Zinke's hometown, Luce appeared to acknowledge the legitimacy of such questions but he then appeared to be dismissive of them, calling the conspiracy theories.
In the continuation of the interview, Ken Luce becomes defensive with the line of questioning saying that "we're getting work done" and that it was all about an entrepreneur being proactive and approaching the island to help them. Here is that interview.
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