Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s administration acknowledged Tuesday that normal protocols were bypassed when a no-bid contract for coronavirus contact tracing was awarded by the state to Great Lakes Community Engagement, which is operated by a well-known Democratic consultant Michael Kolehouse — who has previously written that President Trump should “get Coronavirus ASAP” and that someone should “do the country a favor and cough on that man,” Facebook posts reviewed by Fox News show.
The Washington Free Beacon reported earlier Tuesday that Michigan gave a separate contract to track the spread of coronavirus to Every Action VAN, a division of the Democratic data operation NGP VAN. The contract for Great Lakes Community Engagement, which would total $200,000 over eight weeks, was to be executed in coordination with EveryAction, which is tightly linked to NGP VAN’s operation. The state abruptly canceled the contract Tuesday.
“Nearly every major Democratic campaign in America is powered by NGP VAN’s software, including the Obama campaign’s voter contact, volunteer, fundraising and compliance operations in all 50 states,” NGP VAN boasts on its website. The Washington Post has described NGP VAN as “the voter file provider for Democratic campaigns and independent groups up and down ballot.”
Kolehouse recently posted on social media that he hopes President Trump gets coronavirus.
This is who @GovWhitmer is giving state contracts to? pic.twitter.com/KTjPcepuFD
— Ronna McDaniel (@GOPChairwoman) April 21, 2020
NGP VAN has previously exposed secretive and proprietary information due to technical glitches, The Washington Post has reported, including when a software patch was improperly applied.
The contracts raised concerns that Whitmer’s administration was tying confidential health information to a political data gathering operation and that Whitmer, a rising star floated as a possible vice presidential candidate, had circumvented the state’s normal process for awarding key financial resources. – READ MORE
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