In the latest series of scandals for Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt, newly released internal emails show his office discussed hiring the family friend of a fossil fuel lobbyist whose wife was renting Pruitt a Washington, D.C., condo at only $50 a night—far below market price. The emails were released as part of a Freedom of Information Act request filed by the Sierra Club. In one of the emails, the lobbyist, J. Steven Hart, wrote to Pruitt’s chief of staff that his wife Vicki “has talked to Scott about this kid who is important to us. He told Vicki to talk to you about how to handle this.” Pruitt’s chief of staff replied, “On it.” In other emails, Hart also lobbied Pruitt’s office on behalf of Coca-Cola and the bank HSBC. Pruitt has falsely claimed J. Steven Hart did not lobby the EPA last year. Meanwhile, BuzzFeed also reports other internal emails show that a month after becoming EPA administrator, Scott Pruitt told top executives with the American Petroleum Institute that he was looking to fill regional director positions within the agency. The emails are the latest evidence Pruitt sought to recruit members of the fossil fuel industry to work at the EPA.
Newly Released Scott Pruitt Emails Show More Ties to Lobbyist, Fossil Fuel Industry
HeadlineJun 26, 2018
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