Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) head Scott Pruitt currently faces 12 federal inquiries from the EPA’s Inspector General, Government Accountability Office, and House Oversight committee. A criminal investigation into his actions may be coming next.
On Friday six Democratic Congressmen sent a letter to the FBI and the Department of Justice asking that they open a formal criminal investigation into Pruitt.
The letter says in part:
“At the very least, we know that federal ethics laws bar public officials from using their position or staff for private gain. Administrator Pruitt has certainly done just that. Further, his actions related to his wife’s employment and the quid-pro-quo condo situation with industry lobbyists may have crossed a line into criminal conduct punishable by fines or even by time in prison.”
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The letter goes into detail about the allegations of possibly criminal behavior on the part of the EPA Administrator, such as:
- How Pruitt used his position to find a job for his wife ,
- How he obtained a “well below market value” rental in a Capitol Hill townhouse owned by an energy lobbyist.
- How Pruitt ordered one of his staff members to hunt for a used Trump hotel mattress and
- How he ordered his security detail to find him a certain lotion only available at Ritz-Carlton hotels.
There have been other charges against Pruitt, such as his excessive security costs and use of first-class travel.
It is possible that the Democrats’ decision to write to the FBI requesting a criminal probe into Pruitt was motivated by Rachel Maddow. On Tuesday the MSNBC host had a segment on her show explaining why Pruitt should be in prison.
In her show Maddow said:
“It is against the law for a public official to use his or her job or the staff that support that job for the private gain of that public official. An employee shall not use his public office for private gain or gain of friends, relatives — relatives — or persons with whom the employee is affiliated in a nongovernmental capacity. That’s illegal.”
“There have been large public scandals in other presidencies for behavior that was not nearly this blatant or this unassailably proven.”
In May, Pruitt confirmed in a Senate budget hearing that he has established a legal fund to hire lawyers to defend him in the many investigations into his behavior. Ethics experts see this fund as another ethical problem because federal law says he cannot accept donations from donors whose business interests involve the EPA.
Just like Paul Manafort and Donald Trump, Scott Pruitt seems to believe that the rules do not apply to him. And just like the others, he will soon find out that is not true.
When asked about Pruitt at an event on Wednesday, the president said the EPA chief “is doing really, really well.” In the meantime many members of Congress of both parties have asked Pruitt to resign. Republicans know that corruption is an issue with voters, and they know that the perception (and the truth) is that Congress has not been exercising its constitutional duty to oversee the executive branch and to hold them accountable.
FBI Director Christopher Wray has now been formally asked by members of Congress to investigate the many blatant crimes committed by Scott Pruitt. If he doesn’t do it then it will be obvious that he is afraid of what his boss will say. But the American people deserve better than this. They deserve federal government officials who are ethical and honest — and who are accountable for their actions.
I am a lifelong Democrat with a passion for social justice and progressive issues. I have degrees in writing, economics and law from the University of Iowa.
