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In The News

January 22, 2021

A China-based firm scored a $1B N95 mask contract with California. A document trove shows how.

DELETES REFERENCE TO SOLANO COUNTY - California State Governor Gavin talks about the importance of wearing a face mask during a news conference at Sierra Orchards walnut farm in Winters, Calif., Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2020. Newsom signed an executive order Wednesday to protect nearly a third of California’s land and coastal waters in his latest effort to fight climate change that he has blamed for recent record-breaking wildfires. (Renée C. Byer/The Sacramento Bee via AP, Pool)

From Fox News:

California Gov. Gavin Newsom held back details from the public and lawmakers about a $990 million state N95 mask contract with a China-based firm scrutinized by Congress.

But now, a trove of 848 pages of documents is available to the public, obtained by government watchdog group Judicial Watch. The documents provide details on how the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services selected BYD to make 300 million face masks for protection against COVID-19, a virus that originated in Wuhan.

Earlier this year, state legislators tried to press Newsom to provide details about the deal, as one senior Democratic lawmakers called the deal “murky.”

The documents—mostly emails—show the role of lobbyists in arranging the deal and that California deviated from normal procedures in awarding the contract.