Pruitt's Dinner With Cardinal Accused of Abuse Was Kept Off Public Schedule
Source: nytimes
By Eric Lipton and Lisa Friedman
May 11, 2018
WASHINGTON — Scott Pruitt, the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, dined last year in Rome with Cardinal George Pell, a prominent climate-science denialist and Vatican leader who was also facing sexual abuse allegations. The E.P.A. later released official descriptions of the dinner that intentionally did not mention the cardinal’s presence, according to three current and former E.P.A. officials.
Kevin Chmielewski, Mr. Pruitt’s former deputy chief of staff for operations, said in an interview that top political appointees at the agency feared that the meeting would reflect poorly on Mr. Pruitt if it were made public. Twenty days after the dinner, authorities in Australia charged Cardinal Pell with sexual assault; he has denied the charges.
However, emails obtained through the Freedom of Information Act show that as early as May 12, Mr. Pruitt’s scheduler, Millan Hupp, was working on plans for Mr. Pruitt to meet with Cardinal Pell. “Dinner with Cardinal Pell and others,” an email says, proposing the dinner for June 7 and adding, “Note: His 76th birthday is tomorrow.”..........................
“It was a no-brainer,” Mr. Chmielewski said of the decision to keep Cardinal Pell’s participation quiet. His account was confirmed by two people who were familiar with the handling of the trip, who spoke on condition of anonymity out of concern over retribution.
On Friday, Jahan Wilcox, an E.P.A. spokesman, issued a statement confirming the June 9 meal took place while emphasizing that it “was not a private one-on-one dinner” and saying that Mr. Pruitt wasn’t aware of the allegations against Cardinal Pell. He also said the E.P.A. had no knowledge the cardinal would be attending the dinner..........................
Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/11/climate/pruitt-cardinal-pell-dinner.html
Slimeball!
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Cardinal George Pell speaking a day after his June 2017 arrest for “historical sexual offenses.” A few weeks earlier he had dined with Scott Pruitt, the head of the Environmental Protection Agency.CreditRemo Casilli/Reuters
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So much corruption. Now I am waiting to find out what was up with emergency workers having to break into Pruitt's house (rented room) when he couldn't be reached. Supposedly he was napping and didn't know people were trying to reach him. Huh?
