Calif. attorney general suing EPA for records

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California’s attorney general sued the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Friday for failing to provide records he contends could show conflicts of interest by Administrator Scott Pruitt.

Attorney General Xavier Becerra, a Democrat, is trying to force the agency to release documents he requested in April. He is among state officials nationwide who have vowed to oppose the Trump administration on issues such as climate change and immigration.

Becerra contends that Pruitt may have conflicts, particularly because the EPA administrator is now reviewing numerous regulations that he opposed while serving as Oklahoma’s attorney general. Pruitt, a Republican, sued or took part in legal actions against the EPA 14 times.

EPA officials did not respond to telephone and email requests for comment.

David Snyder, executive director of the First Amendment Coalition, said it is relatively unusual for state officials to request documents under the federal Freedom of Information Act but there’s nothing improper about it. The federal government is required to respond as it would to any other such request, Snyder said.

Pruitt signed a memorandum in May saying he would recuse himself from some cases in which he had sued the EPA while serving as Oklahoma’s attorney general.

But Becerra said the memo makes it clear that Pruitt would not avoid participating in related matters being reviewed by the agency.

Snyder said that Becerra seems to be acting properly even if there is a political motivation behind his records request to President Donald Trump’s administration. Suing is legitimate recourse given the EPA has failed to say whether the records are disclosable or not, he said.