Here’s a recap of where things stood last week, and here are some updates as the scandal gets more and more dangerous for Pruitt.
The line has been crossed, conservative news outlets, prominent republicans and people all over the country are covering and speaking out about Pruitt’s corruption. Pruitt needs to go.
“Pruitt got a sweetheart deal on a condo from a fossil fuel lobbyist and then pushed that lobbyist’s agenda while at the EPA. The only way to describe this is corruption, plain and simple. People across the political spectrum have had enough and agree that it’s time for Pruitt to pack his bags and leave the EPA once and for all.” - Sierra Club executive director Michael Brune
Prominent Republican Voices Join Chorus:
Chris Christie on ABC This Week: “I don't know how you survive this one, and if he has to go, it's because he never should have been there in the first place.”
Republican Strategist Steve Schmidt: “Scott Pruitt is corrupt. The EPA administrator has a thirty person security detail ? Outrageous. He is a grifter and an ethical superfund site. He should resign”
Former Republican Congressman David Jolly: “Pruitt and his in-kind contributors should be subject to criminal investigation by DoJ.”
Republican Consultant John Weaver: “Not only is Scott Pruitt the worst of a terrible cabinet, he's completely devoid of ethical standards. He won't survive a real investigation.”
More Details on Pruitt’s Relationship with Fossil Fuel Lobbyist Emerge:
The fossil fuel lobbyist who Pruitt worked directly with to secure the sweetheart deal held a fundraiser for Scott Pruitt in 2014.
Pruitt met with a lobbyist from his landlord’s firm while living in the townhouse under the sweetheart deal, according to Eric Lipton of the New York Times.
Republican fundraisers will held at the condo while Pruitt was living there.
Numerous Sources confirm the White House has had enough of Pruitt and his scandals:
CNN: White House Frustrated with EPA’s Pruitt over Apartment Controversy - Dan Merica, Pamela Brown, Jim Acosta, Rene Marsh
“Senior White House aides are exasperated with Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt.”
“... government official tells CNN that the lack of responsiveness shows they are not ready to step in and defend Pruitt, who they believe has created a series of headaches for an administration looking to move past controversies involving Cabinet secretaries.”
“‘People are freaking out’ over the volume of negative stories about Pruitt, the source said about the feeling inside the agency. The source wasn't even sure if the former attorney general of Oklahoma could survive the controversy[...]Pruitt's ‘goose is cooked,. the source said.”
Bloomberg News’ Jennifer Jacobs: “Very true that the White House is irritated with Scott Pruitt.”
ABC News: “Pressure to resign” is building on Pruitt.
Bloomberg News: “EPA Chief’s $50-a-Night Rental Raises White House Angst”
Ethics Experts Say Pruitt’s Situation is “Unravelling”
Walter Shaub, Former Director of Office of Government Ethics: “Pruitt’s situation is unraveling”
Washington Times wrote that the “condo controversy may be his last after series of ethics questions”
EPA’s Defense is Roundly Dismissed and Mocked
ABC reports that ethics officials are calling the EPA’s ethics opinion on this “problematic” and “leaves unanswered questions”
Walter Shaub, Former Director of Office of Government Ethics: Defense is “Total Baloney” and “there is no way to reconcile” Pruitt’s claims with reality.
Chris Hayes, MSNBC: “So the EPA just hustles out a half-assed ethics memo today to cover Pruitt's sweetheart deal with a lobbyist from last year? Really?”
Calls for Scott Pruitt to step down are coming in from coast to coast
Editorial Boards are calling for Pruitt to go
New York Times: At Pruitt’s E.P.A.: No Studies, No Data, No Rules
Chicago Tribune: Scott Pruitt's bad judgment
Los Angeles Times: The EPA's Scott Pruitt has to go
Vanity Fair is ready to give Pruitt the “most blatantly corrupt official award”
In a twitter bracket of Trump cabinet scandals, Americans overwhelmingly voted to give Pruitt the top spot.
It’s time to boot Pruitt.