trey.pollard@sierraclub.org
A new letter to Scott Pruitt from Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD), the Ranking Member of the House Oversight Committee, finds that new policies implemented at the EPA to process FOIA requests are delaying the release of information on Pruitt’s activities and behavior at the EPA.
“Combined with your refusal to produce documents requested by Congress, your actions in delaying records under FOIA raise concerns about a fundamental lack of transparency at EPA,” Rep. Cummings writes in the letter.
Already, documents obtained via the Sierra Club’s FOIA litigation have revealed troves of information about Pruitt’s scandalous and corrupt behavior at the EPA including, in just the last few weeks:
Reports that Pruitt spent over $1,500 in taxpayer dollars on 12 pens.
Reports that Pruitt had his taxpayer-funded aides hunt for apartments for him.
Reports that Pruitt abused his position at EPA in an attempt to secure a Chick-fil-a franchise for his wife.
Reports that a major Trump donor helped Pruitt pick his Science Advisory Board.
"Scott Pruitt will do everything possible to operate in the shadows because every time his veil of secrecy is pulled back, we find more reasons he should resign. Documents obtained by the Sierra Club's FOIA litigation have revealed even more about Pruitt's unethical and potentially illegal behavior, so it’s no wonder he'd try and obstruct the process. It’s essential that the EPA be completely transparent and forthright when it’s comes to releasing public information under FOIA.” - Sierra Club Executive Director Michael Brune
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with more than 3 million members and supporters. In addition to helping people from all backgrounds explore nature and our outdoor heritage, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.