No less an expert in scandals than former New Jersey Gov. Chris "Krispycreme" Christie opined on the fate of EPA
CHRISTIE: Listen, I don't know how you survive this one. And if he has to go, it's because he never should have been there in the first place."[T]his one" refers to Swamp Thang's sweetheart Capitol Hill townhouse rental from the wife of a lobbyist for the only liquefied natural gas plant in the U.S. Liquefied natural gas is odorless, so what's that smell, you ask:
[T]he first sign of trouble came when Pruitt took a first-class trip to Morocco late last year – it cost $40,000 and you paid for it – in order to have the EPA chief pitch “the potential benefit of liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports on Morocco’s economy.”
Why the head of the EPA would make economic energy recommendations to foreign countries was unclear. The answer, however, soon after seemed to come into focus.Someone posing as an "ethics" official at EPA has said this was all above board because, yes, if you pro rated the $50 across a 30- day month, it would have been $1,500 -- "fair market rate!" * That may seem like a princely sum to most, but on Capitol Hill, that wouldn't be fair market rate for a doghouse (fleas negotiable). Here's a pic of the place that could be had for $50 a day, if you're an EPA Administrator willing to shill for your landlady's husband's business:
The only LNG export plant in the country hired a lobbyist, and Scott Pruitt lived in a Capitol Hill condo – for $50 a night, far below market value – in the Capitol Hill home owned by the lobbyist’s wife. (our emphasis)
(via ABC News)
Swamp Thang is nothing if not a serial abuser. Media Matters has a helpful timeline of Pruitt's scandals prior to to rentgate. Here are a few lowlights:
February 24, 2017, KOKH: Pruitt lied to senators about his use of a private email account. An investigation by Oklahoma City Fox affiliate KOKH revealed that Pruitt lied during his Senate confirmation hearing when he said he did not use a private email account to conduct official business while he was attorney general of Oklahoma, a finding later confirmed by the office of the attorney general. The Oklahoma Bar Association subsequently opened an investigation into the matter, which could lead to Pruitt being disbarred in the state of Oklahoma. [snip]
August 28, 2017, E&E News: Pruitt gave a Superfund job to a failed banker whose bank had given loans to Pruitt. In May, Pruitt appointed Albert “Kell” Kelly to head a task force on the EPA’s Superfund program, even though Kelly had been fined $125,000 by federal banking regulators and banned for life from banking activity because of misdeeds committed when he was CEO of Oklahoma-based SpiritBank. Kelly had no previous experience working on environmental issues and, as ThinkProgress reported in February 2018, he had a financial stake in Phillips 66, an oil company that the EPA had deemed responsible for contaminating areas in Louisiana and Oregon. In previous years, Kelly’s bank had given a loan to Pruitt to purchase a share in a minor league baseball team and provided acquisition financing when the team was sold. The bank had also provided three mortgage loans to Pruitt and his wife, as The Intercept reported in December. [snip]
September 26, 2017, Wash. Post: Pruitt spent almost $25,000 on a private soundproof booth. The EPA spent nearly $25,000 to construct a secure, soundproof communications booth in Pruitt’s office, even though there was another such booth on a different floor at EPA headquarters. No previous EPA administrators had such a setup, the Post reported. UPDATE: On March 14, the Post reported that the EPA spent more than $18,000 on the prep work required to install Pruitt’s booth, which put the booth’s total cost “closer to $43,000.” [snip]
February 11, 2018, Wash. Post: Pruitt spent $90,000 on first-class flights and other travel in a single week. During a stretch in early June, Pruitt racked up at least $90,000 in taxpayer-funded travel costs, including first-class, business-class, and military flights. The figure did not include the cost of Pruitt’s round-the-clock security detail accompanying him on those trips. One first-class flight was for an overnight trip to New York, where Pruitt made two media appearances to praise Trump’s decision to withdraw from the Paris agreement. According to the Post, “[EPA] records show that wherever Pruitt’s schedule takes him, he often flies first or business class, citing unspecified security concerns.” The chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, Trey Gowdy (R-SC), demanded documentation and explanation for Pruitt’s first- and business-class work travel, but Pruitt missed the chairman’s March 6 deadline to turn over documents.
February 13, 2018, CBS News: Pruitt flew luxury business class on a foreign airline. Pruitt broke with government rules requiring employees to fly on U.S. carriers. He got a waiver to return home from Milan, Italy, in June on Emirates Airline in what CBS described as “one of the world’s most luxurious business class cabins.”And that's only a small sample of what Swamp Thang has been up to, mis- using taxpayer dollars, gutting environmental laws and regulations, all the while selling himself (and us) to the highest bidder. He'd have been "locked up" long ago in a "normal" administration. But, in President Spanky's, he's par for the course.
(* As friend P.E.C. clarifies in the comments, Swamp Thang only paid the $50 on nights he spent in the townhouse - such a deal!)
(Photo: EPA's
