Blood Money

Nothing scares GOP attack-dog Dan Burton more than AIDS. But that doesn’t mean he can’t profit from it.

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When critics dismiss him as a kook, Rep. Dan Burton (R-Ind.), the Republican leading the House investigation into the Democratic fundraising scandal, usually says his crusades reflect the interests of voters back home. But his extremist crusade against the spread of AIDS reflects an interest even closer to Burton — his own pocketbook.

Burton has proposed mandatory AIDS testing for every American citizen and, this year, he called for the death penalty for anyone who knowingly transmits HIV. He is reportedly so afraid of catching the disease that he refuses to order soup in a restaurant.

He also was an early investor in Ribi ImmunoChem, a Montana-based biotechnology company that makes adjuvants, which stimulate a body’s immunity. In 1987, Ribi was listed by Wall Street analysts as one of the players in the growing AIDS-related industry. That year, Burton acquired Ribi stock worth up to $5,000 (Congress members don’t have to disclose the exact amount of their stock purchases).

In 1988, Ribi announced its product might be a building block for an AIDS vaccine, and in 1993, the National Institutes of Health included Ribi adjuvants in studies on humans that attempted to find a vaccine. That year, Burton proposed a resolution for additional money to help fund further AIDS studies.

Betting on the discovery of an AIDS vaccine is a risky investment, says Jim Bellessa, a securities analyst with D.A. Davidson & Co. But if Ribi adjuvants work in the NIH vaccine studies, he says it could be “humongous for the company.”

In 1994, when the company’s revenues dropped, the value of Burton’s investment dropped below $1,000. But in March 1995, Burton acquired stock worth $5,000 in HemoCleanse, which is in the testing phase for a device that might kill the AIDS virus by heating blood. Meanwhile, Burton is a co-sponsor of a bill to fast-track Food and Drug Administration approval of medical devices that offer “breakthrough technologies.”

Burton is already under a Justice Department probe for reported influence peddling to Pakistan. But he doesn’t have to worry about his stocks: Congress members are not required to recuse themselves from legislation or subcommittees that could affect their stock holdings.

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WHO DOESN’T LOVE A POSITIVE STORY—OR TWO?

“Great journalism really does make a difference in this world: it can even save kids.”

That’s what a civil rights lawyer wrote to Julia Lurie, the day after her major investigation into a psychiatric hospital chain that uses foster children as “cash cows” published, letting her know he was using her findings that same day in a hearing to keep a child out of one of the facilities we investigated.

That’s awesome. As is the fact that Julia, who spent a full year reporting this challenging story, promptly heard from a Senate committee that will use her work in their own investigation of Universal Health Services. There’s no doubt her revelations will continue to have a big impact in the months and years to come.

Like another story about Mother Jones’ real-world impact.

This one, a multiyear investigation, published in 2021, exposed conditions in sugar work camps in the Dominican Republic owned by Central Romana—the conglomerate behind brands like C&H and Domino, whose product ends up in our Hershey bars and other sweets. A year ago, the Biden administration banned sugar imports from Central Romana. And just recently, we learned of a previously undisclosed investigation from the Department of Homeland Security, looking into working conditions at Central Romana. How big of a deal is this?

“This could be the first time a corporation would be held criminally liable for forced labor in their own supply chains,” according to a retired special agent we talked to.

Wow.

And it is only because Mother Jones is funded primarily by donations from readers that we can mount ambitious, yearlong—or more—investigations like these two stories that are making waves.

About that: It’s unfathomably hard in the news business right now, and we came up about $28,000 short during our recent fall fundraising campaign. We simply have to make that up soon to avoid falling further behind than can be made up for, or needing to somehow trim $1 million from our budget, like happened last year.

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