The Wall Street Journal - 11.09.2019

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. Wednesday, September 11, 2019 |A

U.S. NEWS

Flynn, though much of it was

unrelated to the central facts

in Mr. Flynn’s guilty plea.

Ms. Powell—a strident legal

commentator and longtime

critic of the investigation by

former special counsel Robert

Mueller—echoed allegations

by Mr. Trump and his allies,

including that investigators

were biased. The government

disputed Ms. Powell’s account

and says it has provided ev-

erything it is obligated to.

Mr. Flynn was an early co-

operating witness in the Muel-

ler probe, which concluded

that Russian interference in the

2016 election was “sweeping

and systematic” but didn’t

identify evidence of coordina-

tion between Moscow and the

Trump campaign. The former

U.S. Army lieutenant general

provided “substantial assis-

tance” to the special counsel

team, according to prosecutors

who later recommended he re-

ceive a lenient sentence.

But in court on Tuesday,

prosecutors hinted that deal

may now be in jeopardy. When

Judge Sullivan asked Justice

Department official Brandon

Van Grack if the government

stood by its recommendation

that Mr. Flynn get no jail time,

he declined to answer, saying

that it would address the issue

in a future court filing.

WASHINGTON—Former na-

tional security adviser Michael

Flynn’s legal team accused the

government of withholding ev-

idence in his criminal case,

and prosecutors hinted on

Tuesday that they might de-

part from their earlier recom-

mendation that Mr. Flynn get

no prison time.

U.S. District Judge Emmet

Sullivan set a tentative date of

Dec. 18 for Mr. Flynn’s sen-

tencing, though his legal team

pressed for more time.

Mr. Flynn’s lawyer, Sidney

Powell, said there was evi-

dence of “egregious govern-

ment misconduct” during the

investigation of Mr. Flynn,

who pleaded guilty in 2017 to

lying to investigators during

his brief tenure at the White

House about his interactions

with the Russian ambassador

before President Trump’s in-

auguration.

“There never would have

been a plea to begin with if

the government had met its

Brady obligation,” Ms. Powell

said, referring to a disclosure

requirement named for the

1963 Supreme Court case

Brady v. Maryland.

Ms. Powell said the govern-

ment possesses evidence that

would have exonerated Mr.

BYBYRONTAU

Flynn’s Deal With

Prosecutors at Risk

Federal prosecutors in-
dicted a high-ranking Federal
Emergency Management
Agency official and the former
president of a Puerto Rico
utility contractor Tuesday,
charging them with corruption
in connection with repairs to
the U.S. territory’s hurricane-
ravaged electric grid.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office
in Puerto Rico filed fraud and
conspiracy charges surround-
ing a Mammoth Energy Ser-
vices Inc. subsidiary that
billed more than $1.4 billion to
turn Puerto Rico’s lights back
on after its electrical system
was destroyed by Hurricane
Maria in September 2017.
The indictment reached
into the highest levels of the
government response to
Puerto Rico’s post-hurricane
blackout, which left some
parts of the island without
electricity for 11 months and
contributed to a death toll
that Harvard University re-
searchers estimated at more
than 4,600.
Prosecutors accused Ahsha
Tribble, a FEMA deputy re-
gional administrator who su-
pervised the relief efforts, of
using her position to steer
contract work to Mammoth
unit Cobra Acquisitions LLC
after allegedly receiving
bribes from its former presi-
dent, Keith Ellison. Mr. Ellison
was charged with providing
her various “things of value”
in return for special treat-
ment.
The Wall Street Journal
had previously reported that
they were targets of a crimi-
nal probe into how Cobra
came to dominate the power
restoration efforts in Puerto
Rico.
In the indictment, prosecu-
tors said Mr. Ellison provided
Ms. Tribble with hotel accom-
modations, use of a helicopter,
airfare, personal security and
a credit card to win more fa-
vorable treatment from FEMA,
which reimbursed Puerto
Rico’s bankrupt power utility
for Cobra’s billings.
Mr. Ellison also secured a
job for Jovanda Patterson, a
former FEMA official and
friend of Ms. Tribble’s who
was also charged, according to
the indictment. In exchange,
Ms. Tribble pressured the
Puerto Rico Electric Power
Authority to award business
to Cobra and to accelerate
payments to the company,
prosecutors said.
In a statement, U.S. Attor-
ney Rosa Emilia Rodríguez-Vé-
lez said the three defendants
“decided to take advantage of
the precarious conditions of
our electric power grid and
engaged in a bribery and hon-
est-services fraud in order to
enrich themselves illegally.”
A Prepa spokesman said it
cooperated in the probe and
would request a meeting with
FEMA “to determine the next
steps to follow, in light of the
accusations made against offi-
cials of that agency.”
A FEMA spokesperson said
it is cooperating with investi-
gators and takes allegations of
employee misconduct seri-
ously. A Cobra spokesperson
said the company has also
been cooperating.
William Leone, an attorney
for Mr. Ellison, said there was
“nothing corrupt, improper or
illegal” about his relationship
with Ms. Tribble.
“The indictment strains to
convert ordinary friendship
between people working long
hours under stressful condi-
tions into a crime,” Mr. Leone
said. “We look forward to get-
ting into a court where Mr. El-
lison can clear his name of
these meritless charges.”
Bridget Moore, an attorney
for Ms. Tribble, said she
looked forward to vindicating
her client and “bringing to
light the details of how this
investigation has been han-
dled by the government.”
Cobra’s dealings with Prepa
have been under intense scru-
tiny since it concluded its
work repairing the utility’s
downed transmission and dis-
tribution lines. Concerns
around the company’s con-
tracts underscore the Trump
administration’s worries about
government spending in
Puerto Rico, where large-scale
hurricane relief efforts will
continue for years.

BYANDREWSCURRIA

Charges

Filed Over

Puerto

Rico Work

patients,” he added.

The impact that concern

over out-of-pocket prescription

costs could have on next year’s

election is clear. In a 2018 poll

by the nonprofit Kaiser Family

Foundation, 71% of registered

voters said they would be more

likely to support a candidate

who backs lowering drug costs.

Mrs. Pelosi’s plan would al-

low the government to directly

negotiate prices on certain

costly drugs in Medicare, ac-

cording to a draft circulating

on Capitol Hill. Those lower

prices would then be available

to all consumers in the private

market. A spokesman for Mrs.

Pelosi said the plan was still

being developed.

Rep. Frank Pallone (D., N.J.),

the chairman of the House En-

ergy and Commerce Commit-

tee, said the panel hadn’t set a

timeline to consider the legis-

lation. “We’re talking to every-

one to see exactly what this

proposal would be,” he said.

Nonetheless, progressive

lawmakers and aides, who had

waged a monthslong internal

battle with Democratic cen-

trists over the proposal’s

scope, cheered the draft for be-

ing more aggressive than they

had expected. Many centrist

lawmakers and their aides de-

clined to comment, saying they

hadn’t seen the final plan.

Mr. Trump supported price

negotiation in Medicare when

he campaigned in 2016, but his

administration so far has opted

not to pursue it. Staffers say it

could cause some drugs to be-

come unavailable to seniors.

But the idea has wide appeal—

and the backing of most of the

candidates seeking the Demo-

cratic presidential nomination.

Rep. Brett Guthrie (R., Ky.),

a member of the Energy and

Commerce Committee, said he

was concerned that Medicare

negotiation could limit choice

for seniors. “You only save

money if you go to less choice,

and I think we need better

choices for seniors,” he said.

“But I’m looking forward to

what they have to say.”

He said he discussed drug

pricing with Mr. Trump in

Louisville, Ky., last month.

Mr. Grassley’s proposal

would require drugmakers to

reimburse Medicare if drug

prices increase by more than

the inflation rate, and it would

cap seniors’ out-of-pocket

costs. Several White House of-

ficials have expressed support

for the measures, crafted over

six months and introduced by

Mr. Grassley and Sen. Ron

Wyden (D., Ore.).

Mr. Grassley said overlap ex-

ists between his plan and what

he hears House Democrats are

considering, so his bill could

get bipartisan support. “I hope

people see my proposal as

more moderate than Pelosi’s,”

he said.

Still, the bill faced pushback

from conservative members

who criticized it as price con-

trol. The legislation moved in

July to the full Senate.

Drug pricing is a sore spot

for Mr. Trump, who has seen

several of his marquee initia-

tives falter. The administration

withdrew a plan to curb indus-

try rebates that drugmakers

give to middlemen in Medicare

over its $200 billion price tag

to the federal government.

A federal judge blocked a

separate administration rule

that required drugmakers to

put list prices in television ads.

The setbacks prompted Mr.

Trump to focus on the execu-

tive order on drug pricing.

—Natalie Andrews and

Lindsay Wise contributed to

this article.

Concern over high drug

prices is driving proposals this

fall from both Republicans and

Democrats on an issue likely to

be near the top of the 2020

election agenda.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi

(D., Calif.) is preparing to re-

veal a bill likely to allow Medi-

care to negotiate hundreds of

drug prices. Senate Finance

Committee Chairman Chuck

Grassley (R., Iowa), meanwhile,

is pushing a bipartisan drug-

pricing bill that seeks to lower

drug costs in Medicare and

Medicaid.

President Trump has also

promised more initiatives on

drug prices, including an exec-

utive order linking the amount

the U.S. pays for prescriptions

to the prices in other nations.

The White House has also been

in talks with Mrs. Pelosi and

Mr. Grassley over their plans.

“If you have Pelosi and the

president on the same page

about bringing down prices,

that’s a powerful combination,”

said Rep. Peter Welch (D., Vt.),

a member of the House Energy

and Commerce Committee.

While the specific initiatives

face hurdles to adoption, the

developments signal a shift in

Washington that has alarmed

the pharmaceutical industry,

which long enjoyed the protec-

tion of important Republicans

who are now signaling they

may take the industry on over

the price issue.

Pharmaceutical Research

and Manufacturers of America,

an industry trade group, spent

a record $27.9 million on lob-

bying last year, according to

opensecrets.org, a website that

tracks political spending. “The

House Democrat plan would

end the current market-based

system that has made the U.S.

the global leader in developing

innovative, life-saving treat-

ments and cures,” said Ste-

phen Ubl, president and chief

executive of the trade group.

“We do not need to blow up

the current system to make

medicines more affordable for

BYSTEPHANIEARMOUR

ANDANDREWDUEHREN

Drug Prices Move Up on Agenda

Separate proposals to address high drug prices are backed by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) and GOP leadership in the Senate.

MELISSA LYTTLE/BLOOMBERG NEWS

There is no need ‘to

blow up the current

system,’ an industry

trade group says.

The government hinted it could ask for jail time for Michael

Flynn, the former Trump national security adviser.

MANUEL BALCE CENETA/ASSOCIATED PRESS

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