Mr. Caputo appeared to be trying to shore up support from Mr. Trumps followers who might be skeptical of wearing masks or getting a vaccine by linking those activities with supporting the president. The main contractor, Atlas Research, could not be immediately reached for comment. A person familiar with Mr. Caputos version of events, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said Mr. Caputo was never in business with Mr. Tolmor, the subcontractor, and did not try to improperly intervene in the contracting process.
But the documents released by congressional investigators suggest that contract officials with the Food and Drug Administration, a part of the Department of Health and Human Services, were so concerned about Mr. Caputo’s involvement in the process that one removed him from an email chain and warned Atlas executives that only contract officers could advise the company about how to fulfill its government obligations.
The public relations campaign became politically toxic even to those who signed up for it. Mr. Quaid recently backed out after recording an interview with Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, the governments top infectious disease expert, saying in an Instagram post that his role was not an endorsement of Mr. Trump, and that he was feeling some outrage and a lot of disappointment after public reports on the campaign. The singer CeCe Winans also dropped out.
Democratic lawmakers have questioned the campaigns funding after Dr. Robert R. Redfield, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, testified in September that $300 million had been steered from his agencys budget to Mr. Caputos office, and that the C.D.C. was given no role in the campaign, which aimed to defeat despair.
The federal government awarded the campaigns biggest contract to the Fors Marsh Group, a research company in Northern Virginia. A department official said the award, for $250 million, was competitively bid and Mr. Caputo had nothing to do with it.read more
Celebrity Vetting and ‘Helping the President’ to Defeat Coronavirus Despair
