Florida GOP Rep. Michael Waltz has in recent weeks called on President Joe Biden to "reverse course" in Afghanistan and relaunch military operations. But according to a report from The Intercept's Lee Fang, Waltz could potentially financially benefit from a prolonged war in Afghanistan.
"Before his successful run for Congress in 2018, he managed a lucrative defense contracting firm with offices in Afghanistan," Fang writes. "The company was recently sold to Pacific Architects and Engineers, or PAE, one of the largest war contractors the U.S. has hired to train and mentor Afghan security forces. The deal personally enriched Waltz by up to $25 million, a figure made public by a filing disclosed this month."
Waltz's company, Metis Solutions, won contracts to train special forces in Afghanistan and "provides strategic analysis, intelligence support, and training." It has offices in Virginia, Florida, Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates, and Afghanistan.
"Congressional ethics disclosures show that in 2019, Waltz held up to $1 million in equity from Metis Solutions and up to $250,000 in options of Metis Solutions stock. In November 2020, PAE announced that the company was acquiring Metis Solutions in an all-cash deal worth $92 million with the self-proclaimed goal to increase its foothold in the intelligence, analysis, and training space serving government clients," Fang writes. "The lawmaker's subsequent ethics disclosure, filed last week, shows that he earned between $5 and $25 million in capital gains from his stock sales, in addition to up to $1 million from exercising his options."
Read the full report over at The Intercept.