EPA administrator Scott Pruitt was adamant in his disastrous interview with Fox’s Ed Henry that he was unaware of the controversial raises given to two aides and that he attempted to find out which officials were responsible. The interview not only did not sit well many viewers, it clearly did not sit well with people at the EPA and the White House. The Washington Post is reporting that he personally instructed agency staff to approve raises for two top aides who had previously served under him in Oklahoma, The Post reports that two EPA officials and a White house official confirmed that Pruitt not only knew of the raises but instructed underlings to approve them.
Sarah Greenwalt and Millan Hupp came to Washington with Pruitt after working with him at the Oklahoma Attorney General’s office. Pruitt asked that Greenwalt’s salary be raised from $107,435 to $164,200 and Hupp’s from $86,460 to $114,590. However, the White House refused the raises. The two staffers were then reappointed under a provision of the Safe Drinking Water Act. It was a highly improper maneuver to use a provision allowing for the hiring of up to 30 people. The provision allowed for such hires (generally experts) to work on safe drinking water — not circumvent pay limitations for favored staff members.
In his Fox interview, Pruitt told Henry “My staff and I found out about it yesterday and I changed it . . . I found out this yesterday and I corrected the action and we are in the process of finding out how it took place and correcting it.” If these officials are telling the truth, Pruitt compounded a scandalous decision with an outright lie.
Pruitt is under widespread criticism for his reported sweatheart deal with the wife of a major lobbyist for companies like Exxon. Pruitt was give a room at a D.C. condo for the low rate of $50 per night. He was only charged for nights that he slept at the condo and EPA officials now say that they were not given the full facts when asked for their approval of the arrangement.
The Center for Media and Democracy posted an article today, linking Pruitt and Cheniere (export terminal for liquid natural gas), noting coincidental timing for the purchase of shares by the Kochs.
Nonsense, Linda. Show me just one piece of evidence that any of the Koch family members bought Cheniere stock, let alone with coincidental timing. You can’t because you know you’re just regurgitating Leftist crap. Wake up and get out of the Swamp pit.
Carl Icahn has been a major investor in Cheniere, along with Seth Klarman. and Icahn is a friend of Trump’s, But Icahn’s stake (as well as Klarman’s stake) in Cheniere occurred well BEFORE Trump even began to make plans to run for President. Even the Obama Administration had the sense to recognize that Cheniere was going to to be a great thing for the American economy, which is why Cheniere’s plans were approved by the EPA and other government agencies under Obama. Cheniere has since created thousands of jobs and has boosted the local economy tremendously. For the first time in history, the US is now a major EXPORTER of liquid natural gas, and is poised to take on Russia and Australia as leaders.
The Center for Media and Democracy is a Leftist partisan organization that hates facts and evidence, as all Leftists do.
Ok, I’ve done my own investigation into the facts, and I see where the Center for Media and Democracy got their BS from. My research again confirms that none of the Koch family members bought Cheniere Energy, Inc. (symbol “LNG”). What did happen was that Koch Industries Inc. bought a stake in shares of Cheniere Energy Partners LP (“CQP”) in the 4th quarter of 2017, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. Koch bought 7,665 shares of the energy company’s stock, valued at approximately $227,000. This is total PEANUTS for Koch. Furthermore, CQP is not the exporter. CQP is like buying a utility. LNG is the exporter. LNG is the growth investment that benefits most from any economic, political, or other events benefitting Cheniere’s exports of liquid natural gas. The Center for Media and Democracy is full of it.
Koch Industries bought shares as reported by CMD, coinciding with Pruitt’s promotion of Cheniere in North Africa. Is that what you’re confirming?
No. CQP and LNG are related, but two entirely different entities. CQP is like buying a utility with natural gas exposure. Thus, there was nothing suspicious about the nature, magnitude, nor timing of Koch Industries’ purchase of a relatively small quantity of CQP shares.
Further, even if, arguendo, Pruitt were serving as a cheerleader for the natural gas industry in Morocco to benefit the US energy industry, this would have virtually zero impact on CQP stock. As a matter of fact, it would have (and did have) ZERO impact on BOTH CQP and LNG stock prices. Had a CONTRACT been booked by Morocco, why, then, there might be some legs to this story, But there was no contract. Hence, this is yet another NOTHINGBURGER. You need to stop acting like a partisan tool and begin to start thinking and questioning the crap you read.
Pruitt will be gone when the Kochs find his replacement.
This is only the beginning of EPA administrator Scott Pruitt’s heinous offenses! Among his other serious transgressions that must be investigated are the following:
1. On March 26, 2018, Scott Pruitt did, with malice and intent, make a photocopy of a letter for a strictly personal matter. Pruit has, thus far, failed to pay back the government for this flagrant waste and fraud.
2. On March 22, 2018, Scott Pruit did, with malice and forethought, intentionally extend a meeting beyond the one hour allocated length so that he could order pizza served at lunch, charging the cost to the EPA, rather than ordering out at his own expense.
3. On February 8, 2018, Scott Pruitt did, with malice and intent, take $2.50 in quarters from the petty cash box, substituting an IOU for the shortfall, so that a visitor to the EPA could loading the parking meter on a street nearby. Although Pruitt ultimately did reimburse the petty cash fund the next day, his actions constituted a willful and reckless felony on February 8, 2018.
I understand that Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein is in the process of expanding Robert Mueller’s investigative scope to include investigating these and other heinous actions within the Trump administration.
Fiat justitia ruat cælum! (“Let justice be done though the heavens fall.”)
Disjointed phrases found below.
Wow – I can tell by the fevered pitch over these various nothingburgers that this man must actually be implementing the unwinding of the Obama EPA regulations (ie executive power overreach) that Trump promised/elected to do in his campaign.
So I guess your view is that, so long as Pruitt demolishes the EPA, he can be as corrupt as he wants ….. The end justifies the means ?
The horse manure continues…so many rotten apples in one barrel…and we thought Obama was bad………
1. It sounds like he’s been taking plane trips 2x a week in the year since he’s been in office. Doesn’t the man have a telephone on his desk?
2. The security detail is grossly funny. Years ago, the Washington Monthly published an article on who did and did not have a security detail in the Clinton Administration. The Secretary of Agriculture had a 24/7 detail. The Secretary of HHS and the FBI director had no detail. Actual security threats is not what drives this sort of thing, or the interest in portal-to-portal limo service. Some administrations are perk-mad (Nixon’s in particular, but also Bush-pere’s) and some are spare about it (Carter’s). Spare is better, and it ought to be incorporated into the statute that no one gets a detail but the President, the VP, the Secretaries of State and Defense, the military chiefs of staff, and the chiefs of the intelligence and police services. It should also be a rule that post-presidential details are limited to the former president, his spouse, and his juvenile dependents and are null after 12 years. Any additions to the roster would require a hearing and a specific signed finding by the President or the Chief Justice. Harry Truman, who was the subject of an assassination attempt in 1950 in which a police officer was shot to death, had no detail on leaving office. His wife shook off the Secret Service before he left office.
3. He want’s a soundproof booth adjoining his office? What’s his girlfriend’s name?
4. The concessionary rate on the condo is trivia. If he stayed there for a month, he’d save $2,200. I doubt Pruitt’s a cheap date to that degree. Just cut the woman a check.
5. Why aren’t salaries for patronage employees set according to formulae incorporated into statutes? Why should the White House staff or Pruitt have any discretion in these matters?
So glad you are back. Missed you dearly.
Spin said to da desperAte.
Original Ken, you remind me of Julian in Less than Zero.
You need help pal beffore it’s too late.
I am as healthy as a horse my doc says and happy to boot. Worry about your sad old sicky self.
The security detail of the most hated cabinet member, Betsy DeVos (hard to say which is dimmest and which is most self-serving), costs an estimated $1 mil. a month. It’s ironic since her brother owns a huge government contracted security firm (and, he held a fundraiser for Russophile, Rohrbacher). A student complained that when DeVos visited his school, she singled out a dog but, no public school student to talk to. Typical Republican, hunkers down to avoid people who aren’t in the donor class. If the Koch son, who hawks money bag shirts, had been in the class, she would have singled him out for praise.
costs an estimated $1 mil. a month.
According to someone who is using an accounting method which doesn’t belong in a poker game. It’s extremely unlikely that the Secretary of Education is attended 24/7 by a guard detail with 15 or 20 officers on each shift.
NBC News quoting Marshal Service, “Security for DeVos Costing Ed. Dept. $8 Mil. for 8 Mos., 4/10/2017. Nash when you call people liars, do you issue retractions? Answer, no, because you typify conservatives and Russians.
Then there is the very expensive “silent room” for security so he can have private conversations, the trip with an entourage to Morocco that spent more time in Paris, the woman on the payroll who showed up for the trip to Par..Morocco, the 30 person security force, his many trips to Oklahoma on military planes pared down to first class……………more to emerge from the swamp.
If I would have done one-tenth of what…..Oh the hell with it.
My staff and I found out about it yesterday and I changed it . . . I found out this yesterday and I corrected the action and we are in the process of finding out how it took place and correcting it.
Let me guess, Pruitt only learned of this after seeing it on the news. President Trump, you got elected because we weren’t buying that horseshit from previous administrations and we won’t buy it from yours.
Olly – how dare he use Obama’s excuse. 😉
Paul,
One difference I see in this case is Pruitt is being outed by his own staff. I’d commend them on such a principled act if I believed for one second they had any.
Olly – lol
An agent on security detail was reassigned after telling Pruitt he couldn’t use siren for non emergencies.
Mr. Trump: First Pruitt ignored your private plane guidance. Then your ethics instructions. Then he gave raises despite you saying no. Wow, no one has overrun your prerogatives like this since Bannon left. Sounds like a new boss is in town.
Pruit learned from the master, Trump – how to lie with a straight face…sometimes an angry face. Well, maybe Trump has an excuse: frequently he has no idea what the truth is. And he doesn’t really care.
A megalomaniac believes that whatever he says, no matter how stupid, is brilliant.
Well, the Safe Waters Act is one we can get rid of. OOOPS!!!!!
He’s gone. Unless its gang against gang. Then it’ s anyones guess. No point in the usual meaningless bickering .see how it iplays out.
Who is gone?
This is not a well-made play.
What possibly could have given him the idea he could act any kind of way and nobody would care or notice? He should have followed the high ethical standards practiced by Trump and the rest of the Cabinet.
🙂
Enigmain, here’s what real evidence of secretly orchestrating voter influencing:
https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2018/04/exclusive-robert-mercer-backed-a-secretive-group-that-worked-with-facebook-google-to-target-anti-muslim-ads-at-swing-voters/
Mr. Pruitt’s ethical principles were formed in the politics of Oklahoma and brought with him to Washington. He has since discovered that government grifters have a harder time hiding in D.C. than in Oklahoma City.
@Mike Appleton April 6, 2018 at 1:25 AM
“Mr. Pruitt’s ethical principles were formed in the politics of Oklahoma and brought with him to Washington. He has since discovered that government grifters have a harder time hiding in D.C. than in Oklahoma City.”
A cogent observation, well expressed.
The Mercers and Kochs both funded James O’Keefe, whose activities have style reminiscent of Russian duplicity.
Linda – George Soros is funding Media Matters and Politic. He also has a hand in antifa and the anti-2nd amendment movement (you think David Hogg is traveling on his own dime?).
Paul, do you have any proof that David Hogg is being funded by George Soros?
Infowars will not count as proof.
Vanillabill69,
You didnt address George Soros funding of David “power bottom” Brock and Antifa ?
Why is that?
Tell David Brock we couldnt send him flowers for his recent heart attack bc we knew he would have thousands of friends and wellwishers smothering him……with a pillow case
David Hogg Promotes George Soros-Linked Group
Apr 3, 2018
Parkland gun control activist David Hogg is promoting an anti-Republican group founded by a former Hillary Clinton staffer that has its parent company located at the same address as a George Soros-linked progressive group.
Here is Hogg promoting Town Hall Project, which aims to confront Republican lawmakers at town hall events:
For those of you interested that watched @Lawrence the website is actually https://townhallproject.com/ sorry!
— David Hogg (@davidhogg111) 10:54 PM – Apr 2, 2018
https://madworldnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/composite_15198423053710.jpg
“Parkland gun control activist David Hogg is promoting an anti-Republican group founded by a former Hillary Clinton staffer that has its parent company located at the same address as a George Soros-linked progressive group.” (emphasis mine)
Seriously? That equals David Hogg is being financed by George Soros?
That’s ridiculous.
wildbill99 – Soros doesn’t cut the checks himself, he usually has a cut-out. That is what he spends all his money on.
Hogg’s gun control group shares an address with another group that accepted a donation from Mr. Soros.
That does not equal Soros is funding Hogg, sorry.
wildbill99 – that is how Soros works
wildbill99 – who has been funding these kids? The information is out there, just look. The MSM told you, but it slipped by you. 🙂
Might go over well in the Ukraine.
Then again…
This is person Trump wants to appoint as AG. An interesting way to “ drain the swamp”. I wonder who will be the first here to say “but Hillary………”
Yes, somehow or other Hillary must have given these pay raises. Maybe as part of “Benghazi!” .
Trump is replacing “the swamp” with “the cesspool”. !AGAM
If these allegations are true this man has no business holding public office.
The probability he will engage in corruption in some form is high.
As others have observed, as long as :Pruitt wants to dismantle the EPA and its regulations, he probably has carte blanche to be as corrupt as he wants.
The deficit hawks were uncharacteristically silent when the recent budget was passed. They were at work plotting to ram balanced budget legislation through Congress so that Social Security, Medicare, environmental regulation, oversight of crony capitalism, etc. are gutted.
Common Cause provides current information about the thieves and their lobbyists in D.C.
“My staff and I found out about it yesterday and I changed it . . . I found out this yesterday and I corrected the action and we are in the process of finding out how it took place and correcting it.”
Not just a blatant lie, but a stupid one as well.
I’ve got a candidate for the next administration official to go under the bus, and it’s not Sessions.
Some of it is fairly common, and Clinton administration officials were cited for it. Shouldn’t be, but it is.
It is Obama and Hillary’s fault because they really run the deep state. So this poor guy along with his boss, is pure as the driven snow. That is the only possible explanation since you assured us that Hillary would have been the MOST corrupt administration in US history. Of course, all of the revealed accusations and criminal charges are THEIR fault. Incredible. Just as Turley carrying water for Trump in most things.
HIgher form than his publicly funded largess project?
He’s Duke Cunningham Jr.
Let him rape the private sector all he wants.
Trump will suffer Pruitt’s enormities because he approves of Pruitt’s gutting of the EPA .
Pruitt, for all his dishonesty, may end up as the Attorney General if Trump needs a malleable tool to fire Rosenstein and Mueller.