Palantir Technologies (PLTR) and several other companies — including privately held defense contractor Anduril — may be benefiting due to alleged “improper ties” to the Trump administration, a group of Democratic lawmakers said.
The group — composed of six U.S. Senators and three Congressmen — wrote a letter to the inspector general of the Department of Homeland Security and the inspector general of the Department of Defense to express concern some private contractors may have received “lucrative, no-bid contracts because of their close ties to high-level Trump administration officials.”
“To ensure that federal contracts are free from conflicts of interest and above reproach, we ask that the Department of Homeland Security and Department of Defense Offices of Inspector General investigate the nature of the ties between DHS and DoD immigration contractors and Trump officials, whether officials have improperly assisted such companies in securing government contracts, and whether they have bypassed the standard procurement process to do so,” the U.S. lawmakers wrote.
The group of lawmakers includes Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D.-MA), Cory Booker (D.-NJ), Andy Kim (D.-NJ) and Rep. Jamie Raskin (D.-MD).
Also included in the group of contractors with possible “improper ties” are security company The Geo Group (GEO); defense contractor Blackwater also known as ACADEMI; CoreCivic, CSI Aviation and CDR Companies. CDR received a contract to provide medical services at the “Alligator Alcatraz” detention camp in Florida.
The lawmakers expressed concern that several members of the Trump Administration own stock in Palantir, including Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, who owns between $100,001 and $250,000 worth of Palantir. Mr. Miller’s senior policy advisor, Kara Frederick, also owns between $50,000 and $100,000 worth of Palantir shares
“Palantir offers data services for ICE to identify and target immigrants, and as the company secures immigration contracts, it appears to have both personal and financial ties to the Administration,” the lawmakers added in their letter. “The OMB’s Federal Chief Information Officer Gregory Barbaccia is a former Palantir employee who reportedly ‘call[s] himself the first ‘federal chief artificial intelligence officer,’’ and it is unclear whether he may have played a role in Palantir obtaining DHS’s single-sourced contract to provide the AI-based ImmigrationOS system that will reportedly track immigrants’ movements—as well as other Palantir contracts.”
Palantir did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Seeking Alpha.
Palantir CEO Alex Karp defended his company’s work with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, better known as ICE, at this month’s DealBook Summit. “I care about two issues: immigration and restoring the deterrent capacity of America,” Karp said at the event. “On those two issues, this president has performed.”
The ever loquacious Karp, who said he previously identified as a Democrat, also rejected the notion that Trump is a fascist. “Of course not,” he added at the event. “I think that’s stupid.”
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