Trump order makes it crime to stockpile supplies
President Donald Trump has signed an executive order
making it a crime to excessively stockpile personal protective equipment that
is needed by medical personnel fighting the coronavirus pandemic.
Attorney General William Barr says the Justice
Department has already launched investigations into people who are hoarding
supplies and price gouging. He says investigators will go after people who are
“hoarding these goods on an industrial scale for the purpose of manipulating
the market.”
The executive order allows the president to
designate some items as “scarce.”
Barr says, “If you are sitting on a warehouse with
surgical masks, you will be hearing a knock on your door.”
No specific items have been identified yet and the
Justice Department will work with Health and Human Services to enforce the
president’s order.
