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Emails reveal Pruitt's behind-the-scenes collaboration with oil and natural gas giant
(CNN)In June 2013, a top lobbyist at Devon Energy, an Oklahoma-based oil and natural gas giant, sent one of Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt's top officials a draft letter objecting to recently proposed federal regulations on fracking.
Two months later, Pruitt, who is now the head of the Environmental Protection Agency under President Donald Trump, signed a nearly identical version of that letter and sent it to then-Interior Secretary Sally Jewell. The only difference was the addition of the attorney general's official letterhead and a paragraph citing additional legal precedent to back up the letter's arguments against federal regulations on hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, one of the main ways Devon Energy pumps out oil and natural gas.
The episode was just one of several examples that highlighted the relationship Pruitt and his top aides maintained with Devon Energy and the oil and gas industry during his time as Oklahoma attorney general. This raises fresh questions about how Pruitt will conduct himself at the EPA, which is charged with regulating that industry.
More than 7,500 pages of emails from the Oklahoma attorney general's office obtained and released by the Center for Media and Democracy through an open records request shed light on Pruitt's relationship with Devon Energy, including allowing the energy giant's top lobbyists to draft and edit letters sent to top federal officials on behalf of Pruitt and other state attorneys general.
Two months later, Pruitt, who is now the head of the Environmental Protection Agency under President Donald Trump, signed a nearly identical version of that letter and sent it to then-Interior Secretary Sally Jewell. The only difference was the addition of the attorney general's official letterhead and a paragraph citing additional legal precedent to back up the letter's arguments against federal regulations on hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, one of the main ways Devon Energy pumps out oil and natural gas.
The episode was just one of several examples that highlighted the relationship Pruitt and his top aides maintained with Devon Energy and the oil and gas industry during his time as Oklahoma attorney general. This raises fresh questions about how Pruitt will conduct himself at the EPA, which is charged with regulating that industry.
More than 7,500 pages of emails from the Oklahoma attorney general's office obtained and released by the Center for Media and Democracy through an open records request shed light on Pruitt's relationship with Devon Energy, including allowing the energy giant's top lobbyists to draft and edit letters sent to top federal officials on behalf of Pruitt and other state attorneys general.
http://www.cnn.com/2017/02/22/politics/scott-pruitt-epa-oklahoma/index.html
