>>In an email on March 21, 2020, a California lobbyist named Mark Weideman sent Gov. Newsom’s Chief of Staff, Ann O’Leary, a copy of an article about BYD titled **“A Chinese Electric Car Maker Backed by Warren Buffett Re-Tooled to Make Face Masks When Covid-19 Hit**– Now It Says It’s the World’s Largest Mask Factory.” Weideman says in his email that BYD was willing to “donate” 50,000 masks to California, along with hand sanitizer, and asked if someone could “notify GGN” [presumably Governor Gavin Newsom] so they could “hopefully execute on BYD’s offer to help California, a place they and their unionized workforce call home for their North American operations.” Abby Browning of the Office of Emergency Services responds to Weideman, noting she’d been forwarded his email from O’Leary, and said, “I am happy to help you facilitate this donation.” Weideman replies to Browning, “Yes, address and receiving information would be great. I am copying Frank Girardot and Nancy Liu with BYD who can help coordinate logistics.”