The more the national media digs into Scott Pruitt at the Environmental Protection Agency, the more allegations of “politics” they find in what President Trump has called the “D.C. Swamp.”
The latest comes from the New York Times which says Pruitt used his position at the EPA last year to consider hiring a friend of a lobbyist family that owned the condo which Pruitt was renting at $50 a night.
The paper says newly disclosed email sent by Pruitt show he had a closer relationship with lobbyist J. Steven Hart than was previously reported and known.
The emails were released as part of a lawsuit filed by the Sierra Club. They also contradict Pruitt’s claims that Hart had not lobbied the EPA last year. The communications reveal that in April 2017, Pruitt had informed his chief of staff, Ryan Jackson about the prospects of finding work for Jimmy Guiliano, a recent college graduate who was a friend of the Hart family.
Hart sent an email to Jackson and attached Guiliano’s resume, telling him that his wife “has talked to Scott about this kid who is important to us. He told Vicki to talk to you about how to handle this.”
Just weeks ago, Hart’s former firm filed new lobbying disclosure forms admitting that he had lobbied for Coca-Cola, the Financial Oversight and Management Control Board of Puerto Rico and Smithfield Foods in the past year. Pruitt had stated in April that Hart had not lobbied the EPA in 2017.