The Lacuna Project

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Exhibit 1295

Letter, Senator Ron Wyden (Ranking Member, Senate Committee on Finance) to David Waterfield, Reynolds American

Exhibit 1295 ยท Congressional letter

Letter, Senator Ron Wyden (Ranking Member, Senate Committee on Finance) to David Waterfield, Reynolds American

it appears that Reynolds American has successfully bribed the Trump Administration with a payment of five million dollars in exchange for a regulatory change that will greenlight the retail sale of flavored e-cigarettes and vaping devices across the country.

Six pages. Sets out a "reported chronology" (30 April donation of $5 million to MAGA, Inc.; 2 May lunch with Reynolds' general counsel and two Ballard Partners lobbyists; 8 May FDA directive; 12 May Makary resignation), sourced in footnotes to WSJ and New York Times reports, and opens an investigation. Asks six questions, including what was requested at the lunch, and two document requests, due 31 August 2026. Characterizes the sequence as bribery and "quid-pro-quo".

Source
U.S. Senate Committee on Finance, Democratic staff
Date
3 August 2026
Quoted from
p. 1, first paragraph
Grade
Primary record
Document
https://www.finance.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/20260803lettertoreynoldsamerican.pdf
Accessed
2026-11-10
Cited by
Findings citing this exhibit
Note
sha256 1148f71b8e5b3bd6a7f6eb7c5447e4eaaaa081a136531a38a413d55bb1bf9db6. The quoted characterization is the Senator's, not a finding.

Cited by

Finding POL-5.20
Primary record On 3 August 2026 Senator Ron Wyden, ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee, sent letters to Reynolds American, to the Secretary of Health and Human Services and to Botanic Tonics. The letters cite press reports for a chronology of the payments, a lunch and FDA's guidance, ask what was requested at the lunch and in calls, and set a deadline of 31 August 2026.