Pruitt had travel wish list and asked staff to find 'official' reasons to go: report

[riversedge]

Source: The Hill



By John Bowden - 05/04/18 07:49 AM EDT



Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt, when he joined the EPA, drew up a list of his preferred travel destinations and told his staff to find official reasons for him to travel to those countries, according to The Washington Post.

Four EPA officials familiar with Pruitt's travel arrangements tell the newspaper that Pruitt created the list shortly after taking office last year and directed aides to plan visits to countries on the list while finding official EPA business to rationalize the travel.

In some cases, those trips were planned for months with the help of influential Washington, D.C., lobbyists, the Post reports, raising further questions about Pruitt's use of taxpayer funds and proximity to lobbyists who may have business before the agency.

In the case of one canceled trip to Israel, the trip was reportedly organized by Republican mega-donor Sheldon Adelson. Two Democratic senators sent a letter on Thursday to Pruitt demanding information about “the role Mr. Adelson or other non-governmental officials played" in planning that trip, the Post said.

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Smotkin would later go on to sign a lobbying agreement with Morocco's government. Critics point to this as blatant evidence of Pruitt using his office to promote his friends' business interests.

“This is the problem with Pruitt,” Virginia Canter of the nonprofit Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington told the Post. “He’s basically acting as a lobbyist for all of his friends.”...................................................

Read more: http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/386184-pruitt-had-travel-wishlist-and-asked-staff-to-find-official-reasons

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[tanyev]

1. He knows he was appointed to the EPA and not the United Nations, right?

Asshole.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

3. You'd think he was head of FIFA, or the IOC

We are humbled by his imperiousness.

[BigmanPigman]

2. Can he be fined or asked to pay it all back

besides going to jail? Oh wait, this is 2018 and there are no rules or laws or ethics. Ooops I take it back. Go ahead Scott, take a couple of trips around the world, build a soundproof mansion then charge it to the tax payers as you had planned all along.

[calimary]

4. Sweet deal, 'eh? Living the high life off the U.S. taxpayer.

It makes me wonder what-the-hell kind of state government they're running in Oklahoma, where he came from. I can't help but suspect that he developed this talent for grifting somewhere before he brought it to Washington. Guess nobody gave a damn back in Oklahoma when his shakedown schtick was just earning its training wheels?

[erronis]

5. Just like the dumpster don, his appointees try to screw everything they can

So dumpster don is supposedly filthy rich but he still wants to stiff contractors and employees and the US/world. Of course he also wants to "stiff" many others (except his wives) but it apparently takes some spankng.

When we look at the DC swamp-draining, one of the pieces of offal that seem to rise to the top has a name of Scott Pruitt. Of course he was not part of the prior swamp (Democratic) so that makes his creds much better.

But I thought these guys (B.Devos not being gender-identified) were all richer than Croesus, but of course much less so than dumpster don - because he's the bestestest.

WTF do they care about raiding the poor larder of the US assets in order to pay for their overages? Hello?

Is it so they can say later that they witnessed abuses personally?

Sometimes the best defense is a truly putrid offense.

And they know putrid.

[barbtries]

6. everyday pruitt has a job

is a SCANDAL.

like so many in trump's orbit, he's like a fucking caricature. someone straight out of Catch 22. When this is over and the movies are made, the farces will write themselves.

[llmart]

7. When is someone going to call for his resignation?

This is the worst and most blatant example of grift I've seen in a long time.

How on earth any Trump voters can still believe all the crap he spewed about "draining the swamp" or "the best people" is beyond me. While the GOP is talking about taking money from senior citizens living on Social Security, Trump's gang of criminals are robbing the US treasury.

[flibbitygiblets]

8. Pruitt's outrageous grifting is a gift to Dem's. That Trump won't fire him is the ribbon on top.

Galling as it all is, it will really help to GOTV