After Trump Named Perdue Ag Secretary, ADM Sold Him Land For a Song

"It was a curious time for Sonny Perdue to close a real estate deal.

In February 2017, weeks after President Donald Trump selected him to be agriculture secretary, Perdue’s company bought a small grain plant in South Carolina from one of the biggest agricultural corporations in America.

Had anyone noticed, it would have prompted questions ahead of his confirmation, a period when most nominees lie low and avoid potential controversy. The former governor of Georgia did not disclose the deal — there was no legal requirement to do so.

An examination of public records by The Washington Post has found that the agricultural company, Archer-Daniels-Midland (ADM), sold the land at a small fraction of its estimated value just as it stood to benefit from a friendly secretary of agriculture."

Desmond Butler reports for the Washington Post with graphics by John Muyskens and videos by
Joy Sharon Yi and Erin Patrick O'Connor June 29, 2021.

Source: Washington Post, 06/30/2021