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June 26, 2018

Newly Released Scott Pruitt Emails Show More Ties to Lobbyist, Fossil Fuel Industry
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In the latest series of scandals for Environmental Protection Agency
Administrator Scott Pruitt, newly released internal emails show his
office discussed hiring the family friend of a fossil fuel lobbyist
whose wife was renting Pruitt a Washington, D.C., condo at only $50 a
night-far below market price. The emails were released as part of a
Freedom of Information Act request filed by the Sierra Club. In one of
the emails, the lobbyist, J. Steven Hart, wrote to Pruitt's chief of
staff that his wife Vicki "has talked to Scott about this kid who is
important to us. He told Vicki to talk to you about how to handle this."
Pruitt's chief of staff replied, "On it." In other emails, Hart also
lobbied Pruitt's office on behalf of Coca-Cola and the bank HSBC. Pruitt
has falsely claimed J. Steven Hart did not lobby the EPA last year.
Meanwhile, Buzz Feed also reports other internal emails show that a
month after becoming EPA administrator, Scott Pruitt told top executives
with the American Petroleum Institute that he was looking to fill
regional director positions within the agency. The emails are the latest
evidence Pruitt sought to recruit members of the fossil fuel industry to
work at the EPA.


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