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Pruitt - in or out?

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#82

EPA officials cited a study indicating that forcing utilities to get rid of unlined coal ash ponds too quickly could strain the electrical grid in several regions of the country.

But when environmental advocates scrutinized the specifics, they discovered a problem: The evidence cited was not established scientific research. Instead, the agency was relying on a four-page document by the utility industry’s trade association, the Edison Electric Institute, which has acknowledged that its conclusions were not “part of or a summary of a larger study.”

Reviewed by a Lisa Evans, Earthwatch “The record does not support the proposal,” Ms. Evans said, noting that the Obama administration’s 2015 requirement on coal ash drew on years of public input and peer-reviewed scientific studies. “I’ve never seen a rule like this, in terms of the thinness of the evidence.”

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#83

Stet - no changes.

Pruitt’s expenditures have remained the subject of intense scrutiny. Yet the embattled cabinet secretary has remained in Mr. Trump’s good graces despite being the target of at least 10 investigations into various potential ethical violations.

The EPA’s Office of Inspector General could not comment on the total number of EPA OIG audits, but it has made at least five investigations publicly known and has received seven additional requests to investigate various other issues that have been folded “into ongoing audits and/or will start the review once resources become available.”

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#84

The fact is Pruitt is doing what his master wishes - trashing the environment. I find it exceedingly ironic that the EPA - established under the Administration of that “well regarded” Republican Richard Nixon - should be under such duress from what is supposedly the conservative side of US politics.
Trump and Pruitt see the environment as a subset of the economy, when in reality it is the other way round.

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#85

Tweet @ kylegriffin1 (NBC news)
Newly released emails show senior EPA officials working closely with a conservative group that dismisses climate change to rally like-minded people for public hearings on science and global warming, counter negative news coverage and tout Scott Pruitt.

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#86

Everything is wrong with this picture.

The special access for Mr. Pruitt, the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, also included watching from the players’ entrance as the team streamed onto the court, and posing for a photo with a star player in the locker room area.

But there was more to the game last December than a superfan experience for Mr. Pruitt and his son, who joined him. They sat in seats belonging to Joseph W. Craft III, a billionaire coal executive who has engaged in an aggressive campaign to reverse the Obama administration’s environmental crackdown on the coal industry. Mr. Craft and his wife donated more than $2 million to support President Trump’s candidacy and inauguration.

Mr. Pruitt’s attendance at the game, the details of which have not been previously reported, followed a year of regulatory victories for Mr. Craft, who maintains close ties to Mr. Pruitt even as he has lobbied the E.P.A. on issues important to his company, Alliance Resource Partners. And unlike other executives with whom Mr. Pruitt is known to have close ties — like the oilman Harold Hamm or the coal mogul Robert E. Murray — Mr. Craft has stayed relatively under the radar.

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#87

#GriftersRUs>

Three months after Scott Pruitt was sworn in as head of the Environmental Protection Agency, his executive scheduler emailed Dan Cathy, chairman and chief executive of the fast-food company Chick-fil-A, with an unusual request: Would Cathy meet with Pruitt to discuss “a potential business opportunity”?

A call was arranged, then canceled, and Pruitt eventually spoke with someone from the company’s legal department. Only then did he reveal the “opportunity” on his mind was a job for his wife, Marlyn.

“The subject of that phone call was an expression of interest in his wife becoming a Chick-fil-A franchisee,

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/scott-pruitt-enlisted-an-epa-aide-to-help-his-wife-find-a-job--at-chick-fil-a/2018/06/05/b798e4e4-5eac-11e8-9ee3-49d6d4814c4c_story.html?utm_term=.d0c13ab9cc9e

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#88

Even Fox smells a rat.

@FoxNewsResearch
(E)xpensive §ruitt (A)gency:
Condo Deal: $50/night
12 Pens: $1,560
Journals: $1,670
Trump Hotel Mattress: $1,750
Private 40-min flight: $5,719
PR: $6,500
Chik fil A Franchise: $10K
Phone Booth: $43K
2 Desks: $70K
Friends’ Pay Raises: $85K
Italy Trip: $120K
Security: $3.5M https://twitter.com/FoxNewsResearch/status/1004467969873924096/photo/1

#89

Delays on documents from the EPA is being challenged by Rep Elijah Cummings, clearly obstruction on Pruitt’s part.

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt has instituted policies that are delaying or obstructing the release of documents under public records requests, a top congressional Democrat says.

Two Pruitt aides who recently spoke with staff on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee detailed a set of policies Pruitt has instituted to prioritize Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests from the Obama administration and have political appointees review certain documents before they are released.

Rep. Elijah Cummings (Md.), that panel’s top Democrat, said in a Monday letter to Pruitt that the prioritization policy violates the EPA’s own regulations and both policies show attempts to avoid transparency, especially as he weathers numerous scandals and more than a dozen federal investigations into them.

“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,” Cummings wrote.

“Your actions injecting politics into the FOIA process mark a stark departure from previous practice,” he continued.

“Your actions are particularly troubling in light of multiple reports that you have retaliated against EPA staff who disclose waste, fraud, and abuse.”

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#90

On Wednesday morning, Laura Ingraham—one of the network’s Trump-aligned primetime stars—declared in a tweet that Pruitt’s “bad judgment” is “hurting” President Trump and that he’s “gotta go.”

#91
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#92

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/epa-chief-scott-pruitt-tapped-aide-donors-to-help-wife-land-job-at-conservative-group/2018/06/13/f54c87fa-6db1-11e8-afd5-778aca903bbe_story.html?utm_term=.cba05205f50a

It’s not surprising if you have a déjà vu feeling while reading this headline; it’s very similar to the one for the article posted above by @dragonfly9. But no, this is a completely different case of Pruitt directing one of his aides to help find a job for his wife – this time Pruitt’s aide was soliciting Republican donors.

BTW, thanks to @matt for drawing our attention to this in today’s WTFJHT news thread (IMHO, the absolute best daily news summary on the web). I thought I’d post it in this thread, too, just to pile it on top of all the other Pruitt scandals reported here. :wink:

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#93

Double ditto that :-:1st_place_medal: :candle: :mag:

#94

Over the past two weeks, press reports revealed Pruitt:

  • Asked a public relations executive to get him Rose Bowl tickets. He secured them at face value when the going rate was as much as 7x higher. [NYT]

  • Asked a former Virginia politician to help his daughter get into the University of Virginia. [NYT]

  • Used EPA staffers to help land his daughter a White House internship. [NYT]

  • Asked a top staffer to reach out to GOP donors to get his wife a job. [WaPo]

  • Used his security detail to pick up dry cleaning and search around D.C. for the right kind of lotion. [WaPo]

I feel like I’m on an ever-accelerating treadmill trying to keep up with Pruitt’s scandals. I hadn’t even heard of some of these – like the Rose Bowl tickets and favors for his daughter. :running_man:

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#95

Not to mention, his horrendous EPA practices…Environmental Protection Admin, not Environmental Plunder Admin.

Water…how elemental.

Here’s the picture today of T and Pruitt, with Pruitt at the Presidential desk - thought it was a spoof, and a sardonic happy birthday wish from Pruitt to T. Was looking for it…but it’s right here. :wink:

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#96

Yes, clearly hiding them…

New Pruitt question: Where are his emails?

The EPA administrator wrote only one email in 10 months to anyone outside the agency, if the official paper trail is to be believed. Watchdog groups don’t believe it.

06/22/2018 05:06 AM EDT

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#97

And here’s confirmation that Pruitt used a private email account to conduct government business while he was Attorney General of Oklahoma. The claim that during his first 10 months in Washington he sent only 1 email outside the agency appears highly suspect to me. The more plausible explanation would be that, just like in Oklahoma, Pruitt is using a private email account. We have a right to know if such an account exists and, if so, to see the emails in it.

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#98

pruitt OUT and inke and DeVoss

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#99

Good grief. What is it going to take to get rid of this guy? In my opinion, every Republican who does not stand up to Trump and demand Pruitt’s removal is complicit.

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#100

Oh wait, there’s this, too. :scream:

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#101

When will it stop?

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