Lawmakers’ Letter Claims Further Spending Abuses by EPA Head Pruitt

"WASHINGTON — Scott Pruitt, the Environmental Protection Agency administrator, insisted on staying in luxury hotels that were costlier than allowed by government standards, while also pushing to fly on an airline not on the government’s approved list so he could accrue more frequent flier miles, one of his top former deputies at agency has told congressional investigators.

The new allegations are detailed in a scathing six-page letter signed by two senators and three House lawmakers — all Democrats — whose staff members met this week with Kevin Chmielewski, who served as the E.P.A.’s deputy chief of staff until he was removed from his post after raising objections to this and other spending.

In a separate letter on Thursday, Democratic lawmakers also demanded information about two previously unknown E.P.A. email addresses that have been used by Mr. Pruitt, asking if they were a tool for withholding public information from records requests. Their letter echoes a controversy in 2012, during the Obama administration, when Lisa P. Jackson, who was E.P.A. chief at the time, was criticized for a similar use of an undisclosed E.P.A. email account."

Eric Lipton and Lisa Friedman report for the New York Times April 12, 2018.

SEE ALSO:

"Democrats Letter of April 12, 2018, to Scott Pruitt" (DocumentCloud)

"Former Pruitt Aide Alleges Wasteful Spending, Extravagant Travel by EPA Chief" (Washington Post)

"Former Staffer: EPA Fired Him For Refusing To OK First-Class Flight" (Politico)

"Pruitt Has Been Using Three ‘Secret’ Email Accounts, Democrats Say" (Bloomberg)

"Trump Body Man Turned EPA Whistleblower Is Violating Ethics Rules, the Agency Says" (ProPublica)

"Pruitt's Security Chief Goaded Spending, Employees Say" (Politico)

"Democrats Ask EPA's Pruitt For Details On Weapons, Security Buys" (Reuters)

"At E.P.A., Pruitt’s ‘Sheriff’ Clashed With Critics of Spending" (New York Times)

"Scott Pruitt’s Idea to Update an E.P.A. Keepsake: Less E.P.A., More Pruitt" (New York Times)

"As Attorney General of Oklahoma, Scott Pruitt Was a Big Spender in a Small State" (The Intercept)

"Scott Pruitt’s Lobbyist Landlord Being Pressured to Leave His Firm" (Daily Beast)