The Watch · Conflicts of Interest
Conflicts of Interest
Every large deal has people who sit on more than one side of the table. Here are the ones the record shows in Project Jupiter — the revolving doors, the dual roles, the self-dealing, and the interests kept sealed. Each is named, tied to its receipts, and open to reply.
A conflict of interest is not, by itself, proof of wrongdoing — it is a structural reason to look closer. Each entry is a characterization built on disclosed facts and carries a verification tier. Anyone named holds a standing right of reply; responses are published verbatim.
Revolving door — Alicia Keyes
Alicia Keyes ran New Mexico's Economic Development Department — the office that signed the Project Jupiter MOU — and later surfaced in the developer's orbit (BorderPlex / Apaluma), the same nexus that touches the NMED permit review.
- claimAlicia Keyes (ex-state Econ Dev Secretary) now at BorderPlex (revolving door)
- conceptKeyes→Apaluma→NMED conflict nexus
- claimThe state's own investment fund likely holds indirect exposure to Apaluma
- claimApaluma received ~$213k in state job-training grants from the agency Keyes once led
- eventThe Apaluma promo video — Kenney stars, then it vanishes
Revolving door — Josh Pitcock
Josh Pitcock, Vice-President Pence's former chief of staff, is Oracle's government-affairs lead. He signed Oracle's letter urging NMED to approve the air permit — and separately lobbied the very executive order (E.O.
- claimPitcock (Pence's ex-CoS) is Oracle's govt-affairs lead; signed the NMED letter; not on NM lobbying registry
- claimPitcock lobbied E.O. 14318 by name while signing Oracle's NMED support letters
- eventOracle NMED permit-support letter, signed Pitcock (Mar 2026)
- documentOracle letter to NMED urging approval (Jul 2 2026, signed Pitcock)
Dual role — the dealmaker holds the purse
The NM Economic Development Department signed the MOU that launched Project Jupiter — and administers the $75M state desalination fund (HB 137) that helps make the campus's water math work.
- conceptMove 1: Executive capture via MOU
- eventMOU signed (Feb 25 2025, pre-public)
Captured regulator — NMED budget dependency
NMED — the agency that will rule on the air permit — depends for its budget on the same administration promoting Project Jupiter, and its own budget notice already delayed all air permits.
- conceptMove 8: Regulatory budget-dependency capture
- eventNMED 'all air permits delayed' budget notice (Jan 2025)
Double subsidy — abatement, then a protest to pay less
At the Abilene flagship, Oracle took an 85% property-tax abatement and then filed a property-value protest to cut its remaining bill further — a public subsidy layered on a public subsidy. It is the template now on offer in Doña Ana County.
- claimAbilene: 85% abatement + Oracle value-protest (double subsidy)
- eventAbilene 85% property-tax abatement approved (2025)
- eventOracle files Taylor County property-value protest (2026)
Circular financing — Oracle · OpenAI · SoftBank
OpenAI's compute contract justifies Oracle's buildout; Oracle's revenue justifies its debt; SoftBank funds the equity by borrowing against its own OpenAI stake.
- conceptRevenue circularity (OpenAI↔Oracle↔SoftBank)
- conceptOracle-OpenAI $300B compute contract
- claimSoftBank funds equity by borrowing against OpenAI stake (circular)
- conceptSoftBank circular leverage (borrow vs OpenAI stake)
Academic capture — NMSU's records-NDA
New Mexico State University signed a desalination advisory agreement whose NDA requires notifying the developer when someone files a public-records request touching the project — turning a public university into an early-warning system…
- claimNMSU NDA required records-request notification
- conceptMove 3: Academic capture / records interception
Sealed interests — undisclosed owners & terms
BorderPlex's investor base is undisclosed; the IRB clawback terms are undisclosed and being sought in open-records litigation; the permit applicant sits behind a Delaware SPE network.
- claimBorderPlex investor base undisclosed — only CFIUS-type review would force it
- claimIRB clawback terms undisclosed (sought in NMFOG suit)
- conceptDelaware SPE network (Yucca / Green Chile / Red Chiles A-D)
- conceptBorderPlex $20.5M Reg D 506(b) raise
Lobbyist on both sides — Vanessa Alarid (BorderPlex + MVEDA)
CORRECTION (Jul 8, 2026): An earlier version of this entry connected an attorney, as a lobbying client of Ms. Alarid, to the 2026 governor's race. That connection rested on a client roster the Watch could not independently verify; the named party disputes it. It has been removed. — Vanessa Alarid is a New Mexico lobbyist whose client roster lists BorderPlex Digital Assets, the Project Jupiter developer. In April 2026 — during the air-permit public comment period — she also joined the board of MVEDA, the regional economic-development agency that helped site the project and publicly boosts it. The same person lobbies for the developer and helps govern the agency promoting the deal. Her exact NM registration date for BorderPlex is unconfirmed.