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SCOOP, with @NPRDina:
HHS wrested control of COVID data gathering from the CDC, gave it to a private firm w/little to no experience in infection control data.
Among other items our investigation found the firm's CEO had links to Trump Org financiers. https://www.npr.org/2020/07/29/896645314/irregularities-in-covid-reporting-contract-award-process-raises-new-questions?utm_campaign=storyshare&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=social
HHS wrested control of COVID data gathering from the CDC, gave it to a private firm w/little to no experience in infection control data.
Among other items our investigation found the firm's CEO had links to Trump Org financiers. https://www.npr.org/2020/07/29/896645314/irregularities-in-covid-reporting-contract-award-process-raises-new-questions?utm_campaign=storyshare&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=social
https://www.npr.org/2020/07/29/896645314/irregularities-in-covid-reporting-contract-award-process-raises-new-questions?utm_campaign=storyshare&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=social
We linked the CEO of the outside firm that now processes US Covid data to real estate financing firm Cooper Horowitz, which has financed billions of $$ in Trump Organization projects, including Trump Tower Chicago. https://www.npr.org/2020/07/29/896645314/irregularities-in-covid-reporting-contract-award-process-raises-new-questions?utm_campaign=storyshare&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=social
https://www.npr.org/2020/07/29/896645314/irregularities-in-covid-reporting-contract-award-process-raises-new-questions?utm_campaign=storyshare&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=social
Public records showed that the contract to Teletracking, this firm hospitals must route their COVID data through, was no-bid.
But HHS blamed a 'coding error' and said it was a competitive process. https://www.npr.org/2020/07/29/896645314/irregularities-in-covid-reporting-contract-award-process-raises-new-questions?utm_campaign=storyshare&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=social
But HHS blamed a 'coding error' and said it was a competitive process. https://www.npr.org/2020/07/29/896645314/irregularities-in-covid-reporting-contract-award-process-raises-new-questions?utm_campaign=storyshare&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=social
https://www.npr.org/2020/07/29/896645314/irregularities-in-covid-reporting-contract-award-process-raises-new-questions?utm_campaign=storyshare&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=social
HHS claim process for awarding this COVID tracking system was competitive.
We reached out to 20 major competitors in hospital workflow/infection control data space. We couldn't find one that applied. One said it had never even heard of the project. https://www.npr.org/2020/07/29/896645314/irregularities-in-covid-reporting-contract-award-process-raises-new-questions?utm_campaign=storyshare&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=social
We reached out to 20 major competitors in hospital workflow/infection control data space. We couldn't find one that applied. One said it had never even heard of the project. https://www.npr.org/2020/07/29/896645314/irregularities-in-covid-reporting-contract-award-process-raises-new-questions?utm_campaign=storyshare&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=social
https://www.npr.org/2020/07/29/896645314/irregularities-in-covid-reporting-contract-award-process-raises-new-questions?utm_campaign=storyshare&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=social
Process by which HHS awarded the contract to Teletracking, the outside firm, is also v odd.
They used a BAA, a process is usually used for innovative, scientific projects -- not govt databases. This appears to circumvent normal channels for procurement. https://www.npr.org/2020/07/29/896645314/irregularities-in-covid-reporting-contract-award-process-raises-new-questions?utm_campaign=storyshare&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=social
They used a BAA, a process is usually used for innovative, scientific projects -- not govt databases. This appears to circumvent normal channels for procurement. https://www.npr.org/2020/07/29/896645314/irregularities-in-covid-reporting-contract-award-process-raises-new-questions?utm_campaign=storyshare&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=social
https://www.npr.org/2020/07/29/896645314/irregularities-in-covid-reporting-contract-award-process-raises-new-questions?utm_campaign=storyshare&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=social
We also learned that HHS directly reached out to Teletracking by phone about the project -- another unusual wrinkle in the story. https://www.npr.org/2020/07/29/896645314/irregularities-in-covid-reporting-contract-award-process-raises-new-questions?utm_campaign=storyshare&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=social
https://www.npr.org/2020/07/29/896645314/irregularities-in-covid-reporting-contract-award-process-raises-new-questions?utm_campaign=storyshare&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=social
TeleTracking as a firm just seems to have come out of nowhere.
We couldn't find any evidence they had worked on infection control data before.
And this single contract is ~20x all their previous federal contracts combined. https://www.npr.org/2020/07/29/896645314/irregularities-in-covid-reporting-contract-award-process-raises-new-questions?utm_campaign=storyshare&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=social
We couldn't find any evidence they had worked on infection control data before.
And this single contract is ~20x all their previous federal contracts combined. https://www.npr.org/2020/07/29/896645314/irregularities-in-covid-reporting-contract-award-process-raises-new-questions?utm_campaign=storyshare&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=social
https://www.npr.org/2020/07/29/896645314/irregularities-in-covid-reporting-contract-award-process-raises-new-questions?utm_campaign=storyshare&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=social
The House subcommittee set up to oversee the Coronavirus crisis is now investigating, demanding that TeleTracking provide info on contract/emails/comms with HHS https://www.npr.org/2020/07/29/896645314/irregularities-in-covid-reporting-contract-award-process-raises-new-questions?utm_campaign=storyshare&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=social
https://www.npr.org/2020/07/29/896645314/irregularities-in-covid-reporting-contract-award-process-raises-new-questions?utm_campaign=storyshare&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=social
Fundamentals of the story:
In midst of pandemic HHS wrested control of COVID data from CDC, handed it to a private firm w/little to no experience in this area via an unusual/improper contracting process -- and that firm has ties to Trump Org financiers. https://www.npr.org/2020/07/29/896645314/irregularities-in-covid-reporting-contract-award-process-raises-new-questions?utm_campaign=storyshare&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=social
In midst of pandemic HHS wrested control of COVID data from CDC, handed it to a private firm w/little to no experience in this area via an unusual/improper contracting process -- and that firm has ties to Trump Org financiers. https://www.npr.org/2020/07/29/896645314/irregularities-in-covid-reporting-contract-award-process-raises-new-questions?utm_campaign=storyshare&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=social
https://www.npr.org/2020/07/29/896645314/irregularities-in-covid-reporting-contract-award-process-raises-new-questions?utm_campaign=storyshare&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=social
