GekeVenn: TYSON

Yesterday the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), an arm of the USDA, announced that Tyson Foods was recalling 3000 pounds of breaded chicken that was possibly contaminated with plastic. The agency, which clearly fails to prevent a host of food safety issues, reported that the problem wasn't detected via government inspection, but rather by a breading supplier recall, of which Tyson informed the FSIS.

Back in the 1990s, Tyson was investigated for attempting to influence Agriculture Secretary Mike Espy with various gifts. According to the Chicago Tribune, “[A] top Espy aide, Patricia Jensen, had attended an Arkansas-Vanderbilt basketball game in Fayetteville, Ark., as the guest of Tyson Foods Inc., the Arkansas poultry giant with deep ties to President and First Lady Clinton. Further, Ingersoll disclosed that Espy had been a Tyson guest for a Dallas Cowboys playoff game in the company sky box at Texas Stadium.” The scandal resulted in Espy's resignation in 1994.

Tyson Foods, an Arkansas company, has always enjoyed close ties to the Clintons and according to the Fiscal Times, “Under the guidance of an attorney representing Tyson Foods, Hillary Clinton made a $98,540 profit from a $1,000 initial investment in less than one year trading commodity futures.” James Blair was the attorney feeding Hillary information, telling her when to buy and when to sell. And to make matters worse, her investment of $1,000 fell well below the $12,000 deposit required by CME rules for futures trading. As a result of the cozy relationship between the Clintons and Tyson Foods, the company received $9 million in government loans while Clinton was governor of Arkansas.

Of special but unrelated note is that Matt Mika, in-house lobbyist for Tyson, was shot several times last year in a shooting near Capitol Hill. The shooting happened at a baseball game practice. Also injured was Representative Steve Scalise and Zack Barth, a Congressional aide, as well as two Capitol Police officers. The shooter, James Hodgkinson, was a left-wing activist who was apparently angry at President Trump. He targeted the game practice that involved several Republicans.