While Texas attorney general Ken Paxton is undisputedly one of the most corrupt elected politicians of our day, his state’s governor is no stranger to shady dealings. Texas Observer reports that “a longtime venture capitalist” who has received hundreds of millions of dollars in border and pandemic contracts donated a total of $250,000 to the Republican’s campaign this past summer and fall.
Matthew Michelsen’s disaster logistics firm Gothams LLC was contracted by Texas to set up mobile infusion sites as part of the state’s pandemic response, as well as holding sites as part of Abbott’s multibillion-dollar, taxpayer-funded Operation Lone Star border scheme. It’s apparently a company that can do it all! The report said that the state contracts won by Gothams totaled more than $560 million.
RELATED STORY: Abbott admits he lied during debate, acknowledges mayor's office did contact him about busing
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Texas Observer notes that while Michelsen’s total $250,000 donation to Abbott’s campaign in August, September, and October “is a relatively small drop in the bucket of a campaign that now regularly receives $1 million checks, it’s a sign that Abbott is willing to cash in on those who’ve profited from his constant states of disaster, which give the governor and state agencies expansive authority to direct emergency responses with few restraints.”
Because Abbott’s emergency orders related to the border and pandemic are still in effect (even though he actively worked to aid the pandemic!), he’s been able to skip out those pesky competitive bidding and oversight stuff. Texas Observer reports that state Rep. Mary Gonzalez told the Houston Chronicle that Abbott was “just abusing emergency powers at this point.”
Abusing emergency powers to aid his political campaign, as well. ProPublica and Marshall Project’s joint investigation this past April revealed that Abbott and Rick Perry (remember him?) cumulatively spent billions in taxpayer funds on supposed border initiatives that just happened to coincide with gubernatorial bids, or when Democrats controlled parts of the federal government.
Operation Lone Star has been a racist stunt targeting Black and brown migrants, and it’s also punished the soldiers deployed to the operation. Because of an error by state officials, Texas National Guard troops may owe “hundreds or even thousands of dollars in unexpected federal taxes,” The Texas Tribune and Military Times said in a joint report. Florida has also had a reciprocal relationship with GOP megadonors. Daily Kos’ Walter Einenkel noted this past fall that Vertol Systems Company Inc., the company that was paid big bucks to transport vulnerable migrants from Texas to Martha’s Vineyard, is also very friendly with Republicans.
Abbott has also spent taxpayer money busing migrants from Texas to areas including Illinois, New York, and Washington, D.C., as some sort of sick punishment against his perceived political enemies. Abbott admitted he lied about the busing during last month’s gubernatorial debate against Democratic challenger Beto O’Rourke. Abbott had claimed New York City Mayor Eric Adams “never called my office, never talked to anybody in my administration,” about trying to coordinate migrant arrivals. But his office had.
“This hateful rhetoric, this treating human beings as political pawns, talking about invasions and Texans defending themselves—that's how people get killed at the Walmart in El Paso,” O’Rourke said during the debate. Abbott’s Operation Lone Star scheme is reportedly under investigation by the Justice Department. Meanwhile, the Treasury Department watchdog has confirmed its probing whether Abbott misused federal pandemic funds as part of his border scheme.
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