Opioid firms kept donating to state AGs while negotiating settlements

WASHINGTON — The top legal officials in dozens of states are suing drug companies and retailers for their role in the opioid crisis, but as of June both the Republican Attorneys General Association and its Democratic counterpart were still taking hundreds of thousands of dollars from some of those companies. RAGA, which represents 24 GOP state attorneys general, got a total of $385,000 from defendants and the pharmaceutical trade association PhRMA between Jan. 1, 2019 and June 30, 2019, according to late June filings. Walmart and PhRMA gave $130,000 apiece, Johnson & Johnson and CVS each donated $50,000 apiece, and Cardinal Health gave $25,000.-- More...