ON "60 MINUTES" SUNDAY: "I THINK I UNDERESTIMATED THE CHALLENGES," SAYS CO-FOUNDER OF FIRM INVESTIGATED FOR RACKING UP PPE CONTRACTS WORTH HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS THAT FELL APART

John Thomas in His First Interview Answering Critics about his PPE Company Blue Flame Medical

Republican Strategist and Co-Founder of Blue Flame Medical Addresses Critics for the First Time Saying He Did Nothing Illegal

The co-founder of a company that signed hundreds of millions of dollars-worth of personal protective equipment contracts, but ultimately didn't deliver to the majority of its clients - including desperate states and law enforcement agencies in the throes of the pandemic - says he didn't realize how hard it would be. John Thomas, a political strategist for Republican candidates, co-founded Blue Flame Medical with longtime Republican fundraiser Mike Gula less than two weeks after the start of the pandemic. They have faced congressional and criminal investigations over their company's conduct. Thomas speaks to Lesley Stahl and answers his critics publicly for the first time on the next edition of 60 MINUTES Sunday, Dec. 6 (7:00-8:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.

In their first month in business, Thomas and Gula - neither of whom had experience importing medical equipment - received roughly $630 million in contracts to deliver masks, gloves and other medical supplies, including ventilators. They claimed they could get it from contacts in China and advertised themselves as "the largest global network of COVID-19 medical suppliers." Delays and setbacks soon began. "I think I underestimated the challenges, where the entire world was looking for these same supplies," Thomas says in hindsight.

"And while I couldn't disagree more in some of the things people have said about me and my company - I can assure you this, first and foremost, Lesley: That my company and I have behaved 100% legally and ethically," says Thomas. Asked if he was exaggerating his company's abilities, he replies, "I don't think we did anything differently than anyone, any company selling product and their ability to sell product. I don't think we did anything differently."

60 MINUTES used Freedom of Information requests to obtain emails from states seeking to buy PPE from Blue Flame Medical containing endorsements for the new company. Stahl asks Thomas about them. "Your network of political contacts actually did kick in for you, wrote letters, made phone calls, on your behalf. That's what I call connections. What do you call it?" Thomas replies, "I'd call it happy customer references."

Blue Flame now has many unhappy customer references, among them Jim Mangia, CEO of St. John's, a network of health clinics serving South Los Angeles neighborhoods. He placed an order for nearly $180,000 worth of PPE from Blue Flame, "And then they come back and they say, 'Oh, there's a kink in the supply chain. It'll be a few more days... 'And then at the end of April, they basically said, 'We're not going be able to deliver,'" Mangia says he was told. "'The only thing we can deliver is gloves.'"

Thomas blames many of Blue Flame's issues on China, which he says was trying to punish America for its tariff policies in the midst of a Trade War. "One of our delays was when China literally stole our inventory off the line for one of our state customers," says Thomas. "What China was doing, instead of issuing an order saying, 'We're not going to allow America to have medical supplies,' they would arbitrarily change the rules almost on a daily basis... They wanted America to hurt."

Stahl reminds Thomas that many of his customers were left high and dry. His reply? "The ones that wanted to be patient got their product. The ones that didn't want to be patient got a refund. There's nothing more I can do than that."

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