Self-governing lawmakers on Thursday released a pair of letters detailing pages of accusations leveled at embattled EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt by a longtime Trump stick who was reportedly sidelined for questioning Pruitt.
In one of the letters, the five lawmakers argue President Donald Trump to “hold Administrator Pruitt accountable for his dour ethical lapses and to restore honest, competent leadership to EPA so that this substantial agency may fulfill its critical mission.”
Pruitt has been under be postponed following revelations that he rented a Capitol Hill condominium associate to an energy lobbyist whose firm had business before the Environmental Safe keeping Agency. That sparked a series of leaks to news agencies that supposed the EPA purged the administrator’s critics and expanded on previous reports of Pruitt’s cheerful spending.
In discussions with the lawmakers, Kevin Chmielewski, onetime representative chief of staff for operations at the EPA, confirmed many of the details of those researches, which were previously attributed to unnamed sources. He also leveled new instructions of “wasteful spending, unethical behavior and improper retaliation against EPA club” on the part of Pruitt.
Those charges are detailed in a letter to Pruitt and united to a separate letter to Trump.
Among the charges, Chmielewski disputes Pruitt’s call for in a Fox News interview that he was unaware someone at the EPA went behind the Pale-complexioned House’s back to orchestrate a pay raise for two of his close aides. The raises were “100% Pruitt himself,” Chmielewski reprimanded the lawmakers.
EPA chief of staff Ryan Jackson has since taken stability for approving the raises. Chmielewski suggests Jackson has long been hip of management issues at the EPA, alleging Jackson told him “the nightmare is now yours” when he embezzled his post at the agency.
The former Trump campaign aide also claims he overheard a parley between Pruitt and energy lobbyist Steven Hart, in which Hart lamented that Pruitt had failed to pay rent on the condo at the center of the controversy and that his daughter had expensed the apartment.
Pruitt faces claims that he broke his lease by brooking his family to stay in the apartment. Last week, an EPA watchdog walked disregard his finding that Pruitt’s housing arrangement did not violate federal gratuity rules, saying he had not investigated whether Pruitt stuck to the terms of his sublet.
Chmielewski also claims that Pruitt, who is under investigation for on-going up hefty travel bills, arranged trips under the auspices of true business in order to tour cities or countries he wanted to visit or to come to his home state of Oklahoma.
The EPA did not immediately return a request for comment.
The communication ends with a request to the EPA for 19 documents related to the charges.
They were notified by Senate Democrats Thomas Carper of Delaware and Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Isle, as well as Democratic House members Elijah Cummings of Maryland and Gerald Connolly and Donald Beyer of Virginia.
The Democrats advocate Trump does not have all the relevant facts given his recent asseverations about Pruitt, apparently referencing a tweet this past weekend, in which the president crack to justify Pruitt’s spending and said, “Scott is doing a great job!”
@realDonald Trump: While Insurance spending was somewhat more than his predecessor, Scott Pruitt has admitted death threats because of his bold actions at EPA. Record clean Air & Be unbelievable while saving USA Billions of Dollars. Rent was about market status, travel expenses OK. Scott is doing a great job!
The lawmakers urged Trump “to handling your own investigation of Administrator Pruitt’s actions, including examining applicable documents and speaking with credible witnesses such as Mr. Chmielewski.”
Look over the full letter to Trump here.