April 19, 2020
UP THE RESISTANCE:
Illinois' governor organized secret flights to bring masks and gloves from China out of fear Trump would seize them (Michelle Mark, 4/19/20, Business Insider)
.Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker organized secret flights bringing millions of masks and gloves to the state from China on charter jets in an effort to bypass potential Trump administration efforts to seize the products, The Chicago Sun-Times reported.Two invoices from the state revealed $888,275 purchases for "aircraft charter flight to Shanghai, China for COVID-19 response," according to the newspaper.The state has reportedly spent $174 million on coronavirus-related purchases, such as ventilators, personal protective equipment, and hand sanitizer.The Sun-Times cited a source familiar with the purchases, who said the details were kept secret "because we've heard reports of Trump trying to take PPE in China and when it gets to the United States."
The chief executive of a MA hospital, outbid for PPE by the feds multiple times, cut a deal, paid extra, hired the trucks -- and then was interrogated by the FBI and had to get his Congressperson to intervene to keep DHS from heisting the shipment.https://t.co/zsgCjNOZ0N pic.twitter.com/Wgcf5u0WCY
— Maryn McKenna (@marynmck) April 18, 2020
Posted by Orrin Judd at April 19, 2020 6:48 AM