The State of California has gone to court against EPA Chief Scott Pruitt and the agency he’s run for seven months after stepping down as Oklahoma Attorney General. While Pruitt filed numerous lawsuits against the EPA when he was the state AG, now he’s been hit with similar suits.
It was Friday when California Attorney General Xavier Becerra sued the agency, accusing it of failing to comply with a request for documents that could show if Pruitt has a conflict of interest. He filed the suit in Washington, asking the court for an order to force the EPA to turn over the documents.
“Administrator Pruitt and the Trump Administration are not above the law. The public has a right to know whether Administrator Pruitt and the EPA have complied with federal ethics laws,” said Becerra in a statement. “Administrator Pruitt’s ability to serve as an impartial decision maker merits close examination, especially now that he has taken a direct role in initiating review of numerous EPA regulations he sought to undo while serving as Oklahoma’s Attorney General for six years.”
Bacerra used the Freedom of Information Act to make his request on issues which could potentially show if Pruitt has a conflict of interest. So far, the EPA has not supplied the documents.
Pruitt has stated that he would recuse himself from some cases in which he had sued the EPA while serving as Oklahoma’s attorney general, but a memo released by the agency indicated that Pruitt might not abstain from EPA rulemaking on the same issues that are the subject of his litigation.
At the EPA, spokeswoman Liz Bowman responded, saying the agency recognizes Freedom of Information Act as an important tool for the public to find out what is going on inside the government, and its staff is working “as quickly as possible” to respond to the many public requests for documents they have received.
She said the staff has twice told Becerra’s office that they are working on the expansive request.
“It’s unfortunate that California is suing the Agency, draining resources that could be better spent protecting human health and the environment — rather than working with EPA’s career staff, as they can gather all the information requested,” Bowman said.