Trey Pollard trey.pollard@sierraclub.org
The verdict is in and the only person who had a worse week in Washington than noted Las Vegas Golden Knights fan Ryan Zinke was Scott Pruitt. A growing pile of new scandals has developed this week in the wake of new documents released as a result of the Sierra Club’s FOIA litigation. The documents exposed Pruitt’s corruption for being even more disgraceful and, dare we say it, pathetic than was previously imagined. Honestly, folks, if you said we’d all be talking about unethical and potentially illegal behavior involving used mattresses, fancy hand lotion, and a Chick-fil-a franchise, we figured it’d be because Florida Man was on the loose again -- not because Trump’s EPA Administrator wants to live in luxury on the taxpayer’s dime.
Where do we even start? How about here: while Pruitt’s scandals may be absurd to the point of laughter, they are serious violations when it comes to ethics rules and the law. That’s why several House Democrats are requesting that the Department of Justice investigate Pruitt for potentially criminal behavior.
“...six Democratic lawmakers with oversight of Pruitt’s agency allege he repeatedly violated federal anti-corruption laws by seeking to leverage his government position for personal gain.” - Associated Press
How’d we get here? Let’s recap the last few days. Buckle up.
June 1: The Washington Post reports that emails released via Sierra Club FOIA litigation helped indicate that Pruitt spent over $1,500 on 12 pens. We headed to the EPA to offer him a more reasonably priced solution.
In case you doubted it, it turns out Pruitt’s lobbyist landlord is in fact a lobbyist who lobbies the EPA.
June 2: The New York Times reports that at one of the biggest games of the season, Pruitt scored some courtside seats in the University of Kentucky basketball arena courtesy of coal baron Joseph W. Craft III - and their cozy relationship doesn’t stop there, according to a New York Times expose.
The AP reports that a full third of Pruitt’s political appointees at EPA worked as lobbyists for industries that are supposed to be regulated by the EPA.
June 4: Senior House Democrats demand answers after testimony from one of Pruitt’s closest aides -- Milan Hupp -- revealed that Pruitt had his staff conducting his personal housing search, booking his personal flights and even helping furnish his apartment, raising serious questions about Federal Ethics laws. Pruitt’s director of scheduling and advance even reached out to the DC Trump hotel looking to purchase a used Trump mattress for Pruitt.
Meanwhile, Pruitt is met with protests during what he hoped was a quiet trip to Idaho.
Plus, Pruitt blew through a deadline to provide the Senate with answers about the legal defense fund he is supposedly setting up.
June 5: The Washington Post reported that EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt abused his position at EPA in an attempt to secure a Chick-fil-a franchise for his wife. In emails obtained via the Sierra Club’s FOIA litigation, Pruitt’s taxpayer-funded staff are revealed to have reached out to Chick-fil-a to pursue a “business opportunity” that turned out to be this money-making effort by Pruitt.
In response, Senator James Inhofe, one of Pruitt’s closest allies, stated “I don't know whether it is true or not. It is not going to help his career. Nonetheless, that could be a problem if it turns out to be true." Turns out it’s true…
June 6: Milan Hupp, one of Pruitt’s closest aides, resigns. So does Sarah Greenwalt, Pruitt’s senior counsel.
Jahan Wilcox, a taxpayer-funded EPA spokesperson, calls a reporter a “piece of trash” in response to questions about these resignations, demonstrating that Pruitt’s crisis communications operation is running like a well-tuned machine after weeks and weeks of on-the-job practice.
Politico reports that the White House told Scott Pruitt “you can’t sit with us” as he was told to stop coming to the White House dining mess. That’s just embarrassing.
Fox News, how could you?
June 7: That $3.5 million security detail that is two times larger than any other security detail in EPA history? Yea, Scott Pruitt used it to shop for lotion and to pick up his dry cleaning according to the Washington Post --- which means taxpayers paid for security staff to run Pruitt’s errands.
The reviews from Pruitt’s fellow Republicans about his performance amid all the scandals are in, and they aren’t good: “He’s acting like a moron.” Hey, y’all said it, not us.
Oh he also made his taxpayer-funded staff fetch him granola bars and greek yogurt, according to the Daily Beast.
Meanwhile, Pruitt gives his friends in the chemical industry a major boost by announcing the agency will not fully account for the risks of many toxic and dangerous chemicals.
June 8: Politico reports that a major Trump donor did not just recommend several people for the EPA’s science advisory board -- the donor got what he wanted from Pruitt, as his preferred pick now leads the board.
ABC News reports that one of Pruitt’s perks was a test drive in a brand new Lexus top end luxury sports car courtesy of parent company Toyota, and ThinkProgress confirms that Pruitt not only took the test drive, but both parties agreed to avoid publicizing it amid Pruitt’s (failed) plan to have for Toyota overhaul internal EPA structures.
If Trump doesn’t like his cabinet members getting mocked publicly, we have bad news for him. Even in the middle of the NBA finals, no one has been dunked on this week more than Scott Pruitt.
Fair enough. We’d say Scott Pruitt had become a national laughingstock if his dangerous agenda wasn’t so deadly serious. While he’s seeking to enrich himself at the taxpayer’s expense, he’s taking favors from the companies he’s supposed to regulate and then pushing their toxic agenda. It’s long past time to #BootPruitt
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.