In Letter to E.P.A., Top Ethics Officer Questions Pruitt's Actions
Source: New York Times
In Letter to E.P.A., Top Ethics Officer Questions Pruitt’s Actions
By ERIC LIPTON APRIL 9, 2018
WASHINGTON — The federal government’s top ethics official has taken the unusual step of sending a letter to the Environmental Protection Agency questioning a series of actions by Administrator Scott Pruitt and asking the agency to take “appropriate actions to address any violations.”
The letter, sent to Kevin Minoli, the E.P.A. official designated as the agency’s top ethics official, addresses questions about Mr. Pruitt’s rental for $50 a night of a condominium linked to an energy lobbyist, as well as his government-funded flights to his home state of Oklahoma. The letter also cites reporting last week in The New York Times that agency staff members who raised concerns about these and other actions found themselves transferred or demoted.
“The success of our government depends on maintaining the trust of the people we serve,” said David J. Apol, acting director of the Office of Government Ethics, in the letter sent Monday morning to the E.P.A. “The American public needs to have confidence that ethics violations, as well as the appearance of ethics violations, are investigated and appropriately addressed.”
The letter walks through the three areas of concern. The first is related to the Capitol Hill condo Mr. Pruitt rented early last year from the wife of an energy lobbyist whose firm had business matters before the E.P.A. ... Mr. Apol noted that Mr. Pruitt did not apparently seek advice about the appropriateness of the deal until after he had moved out. Then, the agency ethics officer who was asked to evaluate the matter, which took place this month following news reports about the lease, was given “limited information” about the deal, and wasn’t informed, for example, that Mr. Pruitt’s daughter also used the condo.
Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/09/climate/epa-ethics-letter-pruitt.html
Wow! Really surprised and pleased to see a change of course by OGE’s acting Director. I’m guessing it’ll be only crickets from the White House Counsel’s office today, but this letter from OGE shows why that’s a very big problem! Hurray for OGE!!
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Well it's aboooooout time. In Letter to E.P.A., Top Ethics Officer Questions Pruitt’s Actions
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