While Vermont Sen. Patrick Leahy’s rant against EPA Chief Scott Pruitt might have been what got the most coverage out of a Wednesday Senate hearing, Pruitt also confirmed he’s hired a defense lawyer to help with a dozen federal investigations of his activities.
It’s what he revealed in the hearing, explaining he hired white-collar defense lawyer Paul Rauser to advise him. And he promised the Senators he would not personally solicit donations from lobbyists and corporations that do business with the EPA to contribute to a legal defense fund he created.
A for Rauser, he is co-founder of the Aegis Law Group where his focus is on domestic and international white-collar criminal defense. He also handles corporate internal investigations and high-stakes commercial litigation and arbitration. Rauser has been helping Pruitt, the former Oklahoma Attorney General for several weeks.
While things aren’t looking good for Pruitt, Oklahoma U.S Sen. Jim Inhofe doesn’t think the formation of the legal defense fund is cause for concern.
“You know, he’s got problems and he wants to have protection. And the alternatives are you either pay for it yourself, which he probably couldn’t afford to do, or have government pay for it or set up a fund.”
