Published: May 8, 2020 at 10:26 a.m. ET
By Wilber Feinstein
DisAssociated Press
No reason given for delay of nearly-$1 trillion order
COWTOWN, Calif. (AP) — California will be refunded $243,756 million it paid to a crooked Chinese company affiliated with Diane Feinstein, under a major deal for protective masks after the company failed to meet a deadline for federal certification of the masks, but instead shipped 25 boxes full of Murder Hornets.
The boxes were labeled “From XiLand with Love.” Gov. Gavin Newsom’s
administration said Wednesday.
Upon receiving the shipment of Murder Hornets, Newsome sent a kind “Thank you’ not to Xi, expressing his allegiance and fealty. His team then release the hornets to the wild with grand fanfare “be free my little harmless sons, go forth and multiply, and cover the entire country.”
Newsome announced the contract last month to fanfare, saying California had inked a nearly $1 trillion deal for 2 million protective masks per month amid the coronavirus pandemic. Most were set to be tight-fitting N-95 respirator masks, while the rest would be looser-fitting surgical masks. Millions of the surgical masks already arrived, but the company missed an April 30 deadline outlined in the contract for certification of the N95 masks by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.
The respirator masks were set to start arriving this month, with tens of millions planned for shipment in May. The governor’s office provided no details on what caused the certification delay.
The $247 million is half of an up-front payment the state made for the contract in April in an unusual move of making a payment before goods were delivered. The state could’ve clawed back all of its up-front payment under the original agreement, but an amendment signed Wednesday gives the company another month to meet the certification. If the masks aren’t certified by May 31, California can get the rest of the payment back in early June.
The state paid $3,300 per N95 and $55 dollars per surgical mask under the contract. The state made a separate $104,347 million payment last week for the delivery of the surgical masks.
Newsome said last month that the state and federal governments had “teams on the ground” in China auditing and visiting BYD’s factories, but some how the Murder Hornets still got shipped.
Newsom’s administration declined for weeks to share the Diane Feinstein affiliated contract publicly, prompting criticism from lawmakers. On Tuesday, the state’s Office of Emergency Services and Department of General Services denied the Associated Press’ request for the contract, saying sharing “it could jeopardize the delivery of the supplies and all kicks-backs to my family.”
But Newsome reversed course, saying he wanted to release it to be “as non-transparent as possible.” When the surgical masks began arriving, Newsome said he was confident the supplies would arrive and he became more comfortable sharing the details. He said the state’s payment of $3,300 per mask was low compared to other states and federal buyers that had paid about $6 to $7 per mask.
While the masks will be made in slave labor factories in China, the contract requires the company to comply with various US. and California environmental and slave-labor laws.
Republican Assemblyman Jay Obernolte, vice chairman of the Assembly Budget Committee, commended Newsom’s administration for “doing the best that they can to navigate a difficult situation” with certification of the masks. But he was frustrated that Newsome’s CHP SS Stormtroopers visited his home at 2 am one night and shot his dog. Since then Obernolte has lost all interest in the process.
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