Multiple new Pruitt scandals exposed after Sierra Club’s 24k page FOIA dump

Since the public release of the Sierra Club’s 24,000+ page EPA document dump, secured under FOIA litigation, reporters at a wide range of outlets have use the documents to expose new Pruitt scandals, malfeasance and secrecy.

Coverage began with blockbuster reporting in the New York Times about how the documents reveal that an “Ex-Lobbyist for Foreign Governments Helped Plan a Pruitt Trip to Australia” and that “E.P.A. Emails Show an Effort to Shield Pruitt From Public Scrutiny.” The Washington Post leveraged the documents to corroborate and elaborate on their reporting detailing the role of a lobbyist in organizing Pruitt’s trip to Morocco. Now, coverage has quickly moved on to encompass a whole new range of scandals and concerns. Meanwhile, cable networks including CNN and MSNBC have provided extensive coverage of the documents.

NEW STORIES & FROM SIERRA CLUB DOCS:

The fallout from the Sierra Club FOIA for Pruitt includes a shocking revelation involving right wing MSNBC Host Hugh Hewitt and a superfund site, Pruitt’s luxurious dining in Italy, his travel to a coal mine in a military helicopter, paid travel and talking points from the Heritage foundation, an offer to test ride a fancy Lexus over lunch directly from Toyota, and more.

PRUITT TOOK A BLACKHAWK TO A COAL MINE:

The New Republic reported an absurd find late last night from the Sierra Club documents, that Scott Pruitt Used a Military Helicopter to Visit a Coal Mine. Newly uncovered documents reveal what the EPA chief wanted to hide during his "State Action Tour" last summer.

PRUITT’S ITALY DINING, AND TRIP, WERE FANCIER THAN YOU THOUGHT:

The Daily Beast did some digging and discovered not just that Pruitt dined at a luxurious hotel in Rome with two aides, but that the costs were outrageous. They also looked a little closer at the time he spent there and discovered that “Scott Pruitt’s Rome Trip: More Time on Tourism Than Official Business.” NBC also reported related details.  

The Washington Post went deeper on a second dinner, and found that a lobbyist had initially paid for Pruitt’s meal at a separate fancy restaurant in Rome on the same trip. Many questions remain. EPA officials confirmed the initial payment to WaPo.

PRUITT IS ENTANGLED WITH THE HERITAGE FOUNDATION

ThinkProgress and Mother Jones reporting based on the Sierra Club documents reveal that emails show the Heritage Foundation offered Pruitt flights, hotel, and talking points for its conference; “The think tank also helped arrange accommodation for other EPA staffers.” Mother Jones reported the Heritage Foundation connection as part of “The 10 Biggest Revelations From the Massive Trove of Internal EPA Emails”

LEXUS TEST DRIVE OVER LUNCH?

A ThinkProgress reporter tweeted out a document from the Sierra Club documents showing that a Toyota exec offered Pruitt a test drive of a fancy new Lexus over lunch, and the the administrator was interested in taking them up on the offer. No doubt to verify emissions output?

HUGH HEWITT SUPERFUND SCANDAL

POLITICO discovered from the Sierra Club documents that right wing pundit and Pruitt defender Hugh Hewitt set-up a meeting between a client and the EPA to prioritize cleanup of a superfund site:

“Hewitt, a resident of Orange County whose son James works in EPA’s press office, emailed Pruitt in September to set up a meeting between the administrator and the law firm Larson O’Brien, which employs Hewitt and represents the Orange County Water District. ”

This story has taken on a life of its own and now, via Hollywood Reporter, the Washington Post says that Hewitt can no longer write about Pruitt for them, while there are calls from the public to MSNBC that Hewitt be fired.

MORE INDUSTRY MEETINGS, FAVORS, SECRECY AND PRESS CONTROL:

Outlets conducting original research including Bloomberg News and POLITICO have used the Sierra Club documents to make the case that “Oil and Coal Executives Clamored for Time With Pruitt” (Bloomberg) and that “Pruitt sought tight control of events even on friendly turf” (Politico Pro, Paywalled), disclosing important new meetings and exchanges.

In Response to the Scandals Exposed by the Sierra Club Documents and Other Recent Original Reporting, Sierra Club Executive Director Michael Brune Released the Following Statement:

“Every page of these documents seems to reveal more scandals about Scott Pruitt and his reign of secrecy and corruption at the EPA. It’s not going to get any easier for him, as there are more documents on the way and we’re betting they will further expose Pruitt’s abuse of tax dollars and the public trust. There are already an unprecedented 15 investigations into Pruitt’s corrupt activities and that number is highly likely to keep rising.”

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