Emails: Pruitt used EPA aide to inquire about Chick-fil-A business opportunity

Quietly, this guy is one of the clearest examples that Twittler is a corrupt scumbag: he already had TWELVE investigations into his shady deals, now this, which is COMPLETELY illegal:

[h=1]Emails: Pruitt used EPA aide to inquire about Chick-fil-A business opportunity[/h][FONT=&quot]
By Clare Foran, CNN
Updated 8:56 PM ET, Tue June 5, 2018


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Washington (CNN)Environmental Protection Agency administrator Scott Pruitt enlisted the help of an aide to inquire about the possibility of a business opportunity with the fast food chain Chick-fil-A, according to emails obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request from the Sierra Club.

The Washington Post first reported Tuesday that following outreach from an aide, Pruitt had a call with an individual in the company's legal department. A representative for Chick-fil-A, Carrie Kurlander, told the newspaper that the call involved "an expression of interest in his wife becoming a Chick-fil-A franchisee."
Kurlander said that the EPA administrator's wife "started, but did not complete, the Chick-fil-A franchisee application" and added that Pruitt's wife is not now and has never previously been a franchisee for the company.
CNN has reached out to Chick-fil-A for comment, but has not yet received a response. EPA spokesman Jahan Wilcox declined to comment to the Post and did not immediately respond to CNN's request for comment.
The news is the latest in a series of actions by Pruitt that have raised questions over his ethical judgment as EPA chief.
Pruitt is currently the subject of multiple inquiries into his actions at the agency from ethics watchdogs, federal auditors and congressional committees. He has faced criticism for months over his first-class travel, security expenses and his decision to rent a room in Washington, DC, tied to an energy lobbyist.
The Post notes that "federal ethics laws bar public officials from using their position or staff for private gain."
According to the report, Pruitt's Chick-fil-A inquiry came after Sydney Hupp, who was working as an executive scheduler for Pruitt at EPA, reached out via email to Dan Cathy, the chairman of Chick-fil-A, in May 2017.
Hupp departed the agency last year and did not respond to a CNN or Post request for comment.
In one email exchange reviewed by CNN, Hupp emailed Cathy from her EPA.gov email address on May 16. She stated, "Administrator Pruitt asked me to reach out to you and see if you might be willing to get a time set up for the two of you to have a meeting." The subject line of the email was "Meeting with Administrator Scott Pruitt."
Another email reviewed by CNN shows that Hupp sent a message to another contact at the company several days later saying that the administrator "would like to talk about a potential business opportunity with Mr. Cathy."
A conference call set up for June 23 with Cathy did not end up taking place, but "a call took place later between Administrator Pruitt and a Chick-fil-A staff member," company officials told the Post.

CNN's Aaron Kessler, Sara Ganim and Gregory Wallace contributed to this report.

In some ways, this guy is even scummier than Twittler, and, that's SAYING something-AND, he's destroying the environment, to boot:

https://www.cnn.com/2018/06/06/politics/two-epa-aides-resign/index.html

Two of Scott Pruitt's top aides resign amid EPA scrutiny

By Jeremy Diamond and Gregory Wallace, CNN
Updated 6:05 PM ET, Wed June 6, 2018




Two of Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt's closest aides at the agency resigned on Wednesday, an EPA official confirms to CNN.

Sarah Greenwalt, a senior counselor to Pruitt, and Millan Hupp, who worked as Pruitt's scheduling director, both resigned on Wednesday, the official told CNN. Their resignations are set to take effect late this week and early next week, the source said.
Hupp recently testified before the House oversight committee that she did many personal tasks for Pruitt, including house-hunting and inquiring about obtaining a used Trump hotel mattress.
Their resignations leave Pruitt increasingly isolated at the EPA, where he has lost the confidence of most of the agency's career staff and many conservative political appointees who feel that Pruitt's ethical lapses have done a disservice to the President's agenda.
Still, Pruitt earned President Donald Trump's praise earlier Wednesday.
"EPA is doing really, really well. And you know, somebody has to say that about you a little bit," Trump said. "EPA is doing so well...I think people are very happy with the job that's being done at the EPA."
Hupp and Greenwalt were also the two aides who were set to receive Pruitt-approved pay raises despite the White House's refusal to sign off on the raises.
The Atlantic first reported Hupp resigned. Greenwalt's resignation was first reported by The New York Times.
CNN has reached out to the EPA for comment and has not yet received a response.
In congressional testimony last month, Pruitt described Hupp as "a longtime friend of my wife and myself," but denied the raise was related to their friendship.
She spearheaded his apartment search when his lobbyist landlords soured on his continued presence in their Capitol Hill condo; booked his personal travel; and inquired with President Donald Trump's DC hotel -- located across the street from EPA -- about purchasing a used mattress Pruitt had heard was available.
Her personal work for Pruitt raised red flags among ethics experts. Federal employees are subject to specific rules designed to prevent officials from using their office for personal gain or taking advantage of subordinates.
The majority of Hupp's professional career has been at Pruitt's side. Since her 2014 graduation from the University of Oklahoma, she has worked for his various political operations, including a PAC and super PAC.
Greenwalt is an attorney who worked for Pruitt when he was attorney general. Her resume says she "provided legal counsel to the Attorney General."

https://www.yahoo.com/news/scott-pruitt-gives-nonsensical-explanation-210759036.html

"...the agency is unraveling under its administrator." ROTFLMAO!!!!
[h=1]Scott Pruitt Gives Nonsensical Explanation For Chick-Fil-A Controversy[/h] Antonia Blumberg,HuffPost 4 hours ago

Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt is defending an attempt he made last year to secure a “business opportunity” for his wife with fast-food chain Chick-fil-A.
The attempted deal came to light in government emails released on Tuesday by the Sierra Club, which obtained them through a Freedom of Information Act request. When Nextstar TV reporter Jessica Smith asked him about the effort on Wednesday, he responded indirectly by saying there are “significant” and “needed” changes happening at his agency and across the administration.
“With great change comes, I think, opposition,” Pruitt said.

The emails, as first reported by The Washington Post, revealed that Pruitt ordered an aide to set up a call with the chairman of Chick-fil-A in May 2017 to discuss, on behalf of Pruitt’s wife, Marlyn Pruitt, the possibility of becoming a franchisee of the fast-food chain.
She never completed the application, a Chick-fil-A spokeswoman said Tuesday. But Don Fox, who headed the federal Office of Government Ethics under President Barack Obama, told the Post that the call raised concerns about the “misuse of public office.”
Pruitt brushed off the report on Wednesday and signaled his and his wife’s enthusiasm for the fast-food chain.
“I love, she loves, we love [Chick-fil-A],” he said. “Chick-fil-A is a franchise of faith, and it’s one of the best in the country. And so that’s something we were very excited about ... We need more of them across the country.”
“It’s an exciting time,” he added.
The EPA did not immediately respond to requests for clarification whether a business deal between Marlyn Pruitt and Chick-fil-A was still a possibility.
Tuesday’s revelation is the latest in a string of controversies involving Scott Pruitt in recent weeks. Two top EPA employees ― aide Millan Hupp and senior counsel Sarah Greenwalt ― resigned on Wednesday, prompting further speculation that the agency is unraveling under its administrator.