The CEO of a Texas construction company, who once loaned Donald Trump’s re-election campaign the use of a private jet, only to secure a presidential pardon for his father later, has declined to discuss the $US20,000 ($27,764) donated in his name to Canadian truckers — a 19-day blockade of international trade routes that caused production delays and reduced hours for auto workers at several North American plants.
GOP donor Benjamin Pogue, owner and CEO of Pogue Construction, is among the more than 90,000 people whose names are listed on a leaked copy of a GiveSendGo donation list tied to the Canadian “Freedom Convoy,” whose main objective is to undermine public health measures meant to curb the spread of COVID-19.
Pogue is listed among the top ten donors to the movement through the website GiveSendGo, which has suffered a series of cybersecurity issues over the past few weeks. GiveSendGo’s website was compromised Sunday evening by an unknown hacker who then circulated an internal list of donations intended for the Canadian convoy.
Ben Pogue, owner of a Texas construction company, provided the use of a private jet to President Donald Trump’s reelection campaign last fall. Several months later, his father received a presidential pardon. https://t.co/jzxjbEnC4e
— Citizens for Ethics (@CREWcrew) October 4, 2020
Gizmodo reached out to Pogue on Monday regarding a $US20,000 ($27,764) donation linked to his company email account. A zip code provided alongside an American Express number places Pogue in McKinney, Texas, where Pogue Construction is headquartered.
“Mr. Pogue does not have any comment concerning this issue,” a spokesperson at the crisis communications firm Prexperts said in an email Tuesday.
The Dallas Morning News reported on Pogue’s inclusion on the donor list Tuesday but said it had yet to receive a response from Pogue or his company.
The Associated Press previously reported that Pogue provided President Donald Trump the use of a private jet during his reelection campaign in the fall of 2020. (The loan of the jet — believed to be a Gulfstream IV — accounted for more than $US100,000 ($138,820) of Pogue’s total $US385,000 ($534,457) donation to the Trump campaign, according to the AP.)
“Like more than a dozen other big Republican donors, many whose businesses are affected by Trump administration policy, he found a way to gain influence beyond simply writing a check. And, like many of them, he received some form of payback,” the AP wrote.
Pogue’s father, Paul Pogue, was convicted on a felony tax fraud charge in 2010 after failing to report more than a million dollars in income over three years, according to the McKinney Courier-Gazette. He received three years probation, a $US250,000 ($347,050) fine, and was ordered to pay $US473,000 ($656,619) in restitution.
White House records show Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum were among those who support Pogue’s request for clemency.
According to the OpenSecrets database maintained by the Centre for Responsive Politics, Pogue Construction employees also donated to Santorum on five occasions, in amounts ranging from $US1,000 ($1,388) to $US2,700 ($3,748). Donations to Republican candidates linked to the company exceed $US300,000 ($416,460), including a $US43,000 ($59,693) donation to the Republican National Committee in 2019.
On Monday, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau invoked the Emergencies Act, assuming powers that — among other things — would allow authorities increased powers to dispel public assembles and restrict travel, as well as force crowdfunding sites and payment providers to share transactions related to the convoy’s funding.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Ottawa convoy spokesperson Tamara Lich said the participants will not be swayed. “We will hold the line. There are no threats that will frighten us,” she said. That remains to be seen, however, as the paper also reported that Canadian police have broken up a similar protest blocking a key border crossing between Montana and Alberta.
Analysis of the leaked GiveSendGo donation files by Gizmodo on Monday found that, like Pogue, a majority of the Freedom Convoy’s financial supporters reside in the United States.
Efforts to fully authenticate the donor list have been hampered by GiveSendGo’s refusal to answer questions about the apparent hack of its website. Nevertheless, reporters in Newfoundland and Labrador managed to verify a donation attributed to a former Canadian politician Monday night.