FBI is probing $300 million Puerto Rico power contract – Trump official claims, “I had absolutely nothing to do with Whitefish Energy receiving a contract in Puerto Rico”
By Rebecca Savransky and Timothy Cama
30 October 2017
(The Hill) – The FBI is reportedly investigating the $300 million contract awarded to Whitefish Energy to repair Puerto Rico’s electrical grid in the wake of Hurricane Maria.People familiar with the matter told The Wall Street Journal that FBI agents from the San Juan field office are examining the deal and how Whitefish and the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA) came to the agreement.Neither the FBI nor Whitefish responded to requests for comment.The report comes after Puerto Rico’s state-run electric utility said Sunday it had accepted the governor’s request to immediately cancel its contract with Whitefish, a small Montana-based energy firm headquartered in Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke‘s hometown.During a Sunday press conference, Gov. Ricardo Rosselló called for PREPA to “immediately” cancel the deal, which was made in September, shortly after the hurricane hit the island.At the time the storm hit, Whitefish reportedly had only two full-time employees. The deal drew scrutiny, with critics arguing the firm didn’t have experience working on such a large-scale project and that its contract with PREPA was improper, pointing to a provision that sought to limit the government’s right to audit Whitefish.The FBI is just the latest government body to probe the Whitefish deal.Both the House Energy and Commerce and Natural Resources Committees launched investigations last week, as did the inspector general for the Department of Homeland Security, which has jurisdiction over the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Puerto Rico’s own government is also reviewing how the contract came about.The Trump administration has sought to distance itself from the contract. Zinke said last week he had nothing to do with it in a forceful statement Friday, while FEMA said it did not approve the deal. [more]
