i'm andy andy techmanski, i'm andy techmanski, founder and c.e.o. of whitefish energy. >> reporter: techmanski knows interior secretary ryan zinke. whitefish is based in his hometown. the interior department and whitefish says zinke played no dle in the contract. whitefish officials say they were willing to work for $2 million up front while the

a hi, i'm andy techmanski. >> reporter: whitefish c.e.o., andy techmanski, says his company, which is located in the hometown of interior secretary ryan zinke has 300 workers on the ground in puerto rico working to fix the crippled electrical system. >> and it's going to help get the power back on in puerto rico. >> mason: a month after hurricane maria devastated puerto rico, 75% of that island is still without power. the controversy over the no-bid contract set off a twitter feud e tween the mayor of san juan, carmen yulin cruz, and the company. cruz believes the deal with whitefish energy should be void. voided. she described the company as "inadequate" and asked for transparency. whitefish hit back, threatening to leave, writing: the company later apologized. the company later apologized. as we were leaving, what was said to be the headquarters for whitefish energy, we were headed down this rural road when the man driving this white pickup thuck actually blocked us and prevented us from getting out. t.e sheriff's department was called and a deputy is now speaking with that man. whi

i'm andy andy techmanski, i'm andy techmanski, founder and c.e.o. fish energy. >> reporter: techmanski knows interior secretary ryan zinke. whitefish is based in his hometown. the interior department and whitefish says zinke played no dle in the contract. whitefish officials say they were willing to work for $2 million up front while the other company prepa was considering wanted $25 million. rnight puerto rico's governor says that he's going to be reviewing the contracting process. anthony? >> mason: julianna goldman. thanks, julianna. hurricane maria also disrupted production at puerto rican factories that make critical drugs and medical supplies. dr. jon lapook found hospitals on the u.s. mainland are already seeing shortages. >> this is slated to go to a patient for infusion. >> reporter: these small bags of intravenous fluid deliver life-saving medications like antibiotics and chemotherapy. regine villain's job at nyu health is to manage supply, and she's worried. the bags are in short supply. >> we have been practically hand-to-mouth counting b

we found one of them: andy techmanski. so their tech man is named andy "tech-manski?" ( laughter ) that is made up. i'm guessing the other guy is irish. "seamus o'therguy." ( applause ) he seems nice. he really seems nice. seaseamus really seems like a ne guy. o'therguy. one thing we did learn is that buzzfeed went to whitefish, montana, looking for the company's headquarters, eventually finding a small cabin in a forested area-- and i believe, a composite sketch of their third employee. there he is. yeah. chilly, this time of the year. this time of the year, you want a little -- >> jon: look a hoodie. >> stephen: fun fact, this controversy was first reported by weather.com. it's has to be the most unlikely scoop since watergate was broken by the "piggly-wiggly" sunday circular. ( laughter ) ( applause ) so why would this tiny company located in the woods of montana win a massive contract to fix puerto rico? well, it didn't hurt that whitefish energy is based in whitefish, montana, the hometown of interior secretary ryan zinke, and that zinke's son had a summer job at

>> reporter: andy techmanski. i know the mail in front of the house says his name. >> this says wish. >> reporter: it says wish holding. thank you, sir. wish secured a contract with prepare athe puerto rico energy authority. his company has been around for two years, and at the time the hurricane made landfall in puerto rico, whitefish had only two employees. they have since hired 300 people to do work for them in puerto rico. notable is the u.s. secretary of the interior, ryan zinke, is from whitefish, montana. in fact, he and the c.e.o. of whitefish energy know each other, that's according to the associated press which reports the secretary's son at one time had a job with whitefish energy. the secretary is insisting he had absolutely nothing to do with a $300 million contract being awarded to a small company in his home town. reena. >> ninan: thank you so much, david. well, the political crisis in spain is boiling over. the central government in madrid today took direct control of cantano. on friday, lawmakers

the company's ceo andy techmanski told nbc news his critics were on a witch hunt and that he landed the deal with the help of linkedin, not anyone from the trump administration. >> we're here doing actual work. >> reporter: now, officials say other companies like oklahoma-based cobra with its own $200 million contract will have to fill the void. gabe gutierrez, nbc news, cananvonas, puerto rico. >>> there's a lot more to come. still ahead, for years you've been told it helps prevent heart disease, but now the fda is pushing back on claims about this product found in everything from coffee to salad dressing. up for the first time about the life-saving gift she got from her best friend. if you move your old 401(k) to a fidelity ira, we make sure you're in the loop at every step from the moment you decide to move your money to the instant your new retirement account is funded. because when you know where you stand, things are just clearer. -♪ a little bit o' soul, yeah anif you've got a lifee. you gotta sw

the company's ceo, andy techmanski, told nbc news his critics were on a witch hunt and that he landed the deal with the help of linkedin, not anyone from the trump administration. >> we're here doing actual work. >> reporter: now, officials say other companies, like oklahoma-based cobra with its own $200 million contract, will have to fill the void. gabe gutierrez, nbc news, puerto rico. >>> there's a lot more to come. still ahead, for years you've been told it helps prevent heart disease, but now the fda is pushing back on claims about this product found in everything from coffee to salad dressing. >>> also, pop star selena gomez opening up for the first time about the life-saving gift she got from her best friend. >>> back now with some surprising health news. for the first time ever the fda says it wants to revoke a health claim the agency once approved that said drinking soy protein milk or eating other soy foods can keep your heart healthy. nbc's rehema ellis explains why they're taking a second look at that. >> reporter: for millions of americans who've trusted that consuming so

. >> reporter: facing audits and investigations andy techmanski, the ceo of whitefish energy says hehing to hide. >> there's people out there looking for something that does not exist. >> reporter: he says his company didn't have the just two the full-time employees when hurricane maria made landfall as reported but instead 20 to 40 working projects in the u.s. techmanski says he first contacted the puerto rico electric power that's right or prepa after irma in september. >> i found them on linked in. >> you used it to get a $300 million contract. >> linked in is going to love this but yeah. >> reporter: he strongly denied ryan zinke also from whitefish, montana or anyone else in the trump administration had anything to do with the contract. still, fema says it has significant concerns and never reviewed the document despite wording that suggests otherwise. >> it's simply not something we would do. >> reporter: techmanski says that language wasn't supposed to be there and has been deleted from an amended version of the contract. >> i haven't compared them side by side bud certainly a

i'm andy techmanski. >> reporter: a month after hurricane maria devastated puerto rico, 75% of the island is still without power. >> this is a contract determined by the local authorities in puerto rico. >> reporter: on friday, white house press secretary sarah huckabee sanders tried to distance president trump from the contract. on the same day, the president addressed the issue with interior secretary ryan zinke. >> he did ask secretary zinke just for clarification purposes and he reiterated once again that we have no role, the federal government, and specifically he had no role in that contract. >> reporter: the contract states that the federal emergency management agency, fema, review and approved the agreement, but fema says it was not involved, and any lan fwaj that says it was is inaccurate. the controversy over the contract set off a twitter feud between the mayor of san juan, carmen yulin cruz and the company. she believes the deal shoulds be voided. she describes the company as inadequate and asked for transparency. whitefish hit back, threatening to leave, writing, quote, we've

andy, founder and ceo of whitefish energy. >> reporter: the company's ties to the administration are under scrutiny. techmanskiws interior secretary zinke. the energy company is backed by hbc investment. its founder joe colonnetta gave $33,000 of then governor, now energy secretary, rick perry. colonnetta gave $28,200 to support president trump's electi election. the energy department did not respond to our questions. the energy department and zinke says the company play nod role in the contract. they say they got the job, in part, because they were willing to take less money up front than the other company that was being considered. norah. >> all right, julianna, thank you. >>> president trump has slammed the democrats and hillary clinton because they helped pay for controversial research into his ties to russia. >> she denied it. everybody denied it. now they're sort of scooting around, trying to figure out what to say. so they spent, if you think of it, almost $6 million on something like that, and i think honestly i just think it's a disgrace. >> a source familiar with the clinton campaign said the former