Trump Caused Millions in Damage After Freedom 250 Oil Spill

The government shelled out almost $2 million in a no-bid emergency contract to clean up a diesel spill that occurred under the watch of Freedom 250, the shadowy organization through which President Donald Trump is administering semiquincentennial celebrations.

In May, Freedom 250 and a Trump-tied event management company, Event Strategies Inc., installed temporary lighting while setting up the Great American State Fair on the National Mall. Then, on May 20, fuel lines on the lighting equipment spilled at least 30 gallons of fuel onto the mall. The fuel seeped underground, contaminating rainwater repositories used to irrigate the mall. And another spill of an unknown quantity came soon after.

The government awarded a “rushed, no-bid contract” of $1.8 million for the cleanup, reported Anna Kramer of NOTUS Friday. It took two months for the contract, which was awarded to Maryland-based business Custom Lawn Service Inc, to be posted publicly. Officials told Kramer that was due to the “emergency nature of the situation.”

Government records reported in May by The New York Times suggest the spill was due to negligence, originating “from event-related equipment that lacked required secondary and tertiary containment measures.” But the Trump administration has described hiccups in its 250th celebrations as the fault of left-wing saboteurs, and this time was no different: The administration alleged that vandals slashed the fuel lines.

The government does not ordinarily foot the bill for such cleanup jobs. Permit holders are typically held “liable for the environmental mitigation after a spill of such magnitude,” NBC News reported last month. Accordingly, hundreds of concerned citizens petitioned for Freedom 250, not the taxpayer, to be made financially responsible, but their calls apparently fell on deaf ears.

The $1.8 million price tag is also markedly higher than initially estimated. According to the Times, the National Park Service in May was seeking a contractor for $1.1 million, and an interior department spokesperson said the cleanup “could end up costing far less.” ...