Trumps EPA pick slapped with a lawsuit ahead of confirmation

[babylonsister]

https://thinkprogress.org/cmd-sues-for-pruitt-letters-8ec696b2ffe9#.vnkjfg3xw

Samantha Page
Climate Reporter at @ThinkProgress.
Feb 7
Trump’s EPA pick slapped with a lawsuit ahead of confirmation
The Center for Media and Democracy has been waiting over two years for Pruitt’s office to respond to its request.



Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt (R) is on the verge of being confirmed by the Senate to head the Environmental Protection Agency — but there are lingering questions about his close relationship with the oil and gas industry. A watchdog group sued Pruitt’s office on Tuesday, hoping to force details about that relationship into the open.

“Scott Pruitt has withheld access to thousands of emails with businesses or organizations whose activities adversely affect the environment and other records of vital public interest for the past two years,” said Robert Nelon, who is representing the Center for Media and Democracy in the suit. “His inaction denies the public ‘prompt and reasonable’ access to public documents and violates Oklahoma’s Open Records Act.”

The suit seeks to unveil the more than 3,000 emails and other pieces of correspondence between Pruitt or his staff and oil and gas companies that the attorney general’s office says it has.

The Center for Media and Democracy initially made the request more than two years ago — and they still haven’t received a response. They have nine open records requests outstanding, the oldest of which is from January 2015.

Trump’s EPA pick stonewalls senators questioning his industry ties

The Senate knows very little about Pruitt’s ties to oil and gas, and he’s making sure they won’t find out more.

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https://thinkprogress.org/cmd-sues-for-pruitt-letters-8ec696b2ffe9#.vnkjfg3xw