Jonathon Berman, jonathon.berman@sierraclub.org
Washington, DC -- Today, in one of the many investigations into Ryan Zinke, the Department of the Interior’s Inspector General faulted Zinke and his wife for violating policies in abusing the taxpayer’s dime to fund their preferred lifestyle. In a report that harkens back to disgraced former EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt’s antics, Zinke is found to have sought to designate his wife as an agency volunteer to avoid paying for her travel, wasted $25,000 of taxpayer funds for security on a vacation, and failed to seek ethics officials approvals when taking campaign donors on a boat outing. This follows past reports critical of Zinke’s penchant for taxpayer-funded private travel and comes as Interior denied multiple reports that a Trump political appointee will soon leave the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and take over as the head inspector general (IG) overseeing investigations into the Secretary.
In response, Sierra Club Executive Director Michael Brune released the following statement:
“Being exposed for abusing his power to rip-off the taxpayer while benefiting himself provides all the proof that should be needed to fire Ryan Zinke. At the same time, Zinke appears to be partaking in a cover-up of his actions while pointing the finger at anyone but himself.
“Even Scott Pruitt resigned before he could be fired, but Zinke doesn’t even have that sense of decency. Zinke is selling-out our public lands to corporate polluters, using his power to enrich himself, and ripping off the public by wasting their tax dollars. It’s time Donald Trump fires Ryan Zinke, not give him a chance to engage in a Washington cover-up.”
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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.