Billions of public dollars have been dumped into COVID-19 vaccine contracts, but for at least $6 billion of it, the public has yet to see the content of those contracts, all of which are under control of a CIA-linked contractor.
NPR named the South Carolina-based contractor, Advanced Technology International, but they were unable to find out further information on the company’s ties to the CIA, Department of Homeland Security and the Department Defense. Since $6 billion is “the majority of Operation Warp Speed’s $10 billion budget,” NPR and other media think what’s happening with that money should be transparent and available for public scrutiny.
Unfortunately, not making the information public allows the government “bypass the regulatory oversight and transparency of traditional federal contracting mechanisms,” NPR says. “As a result, the contracts between the pharmaceutical companies and ATI may not be available through public records requests, and additional documents are exempt from public disclosure for five years.”
SOURCES:
The Last American Vagabond October 6, 2020
NPR September 29, 2020