Pruitt had wish list for travel on taxpayers’ dime

WASHINGTON — Scott Pruitt’s itinerary for a February trip to Israel was remarkable by any standard for an Environmental Protection Agency administrator: A stop at a controversial Jewish settlement in the West Bank. An appearance at Tel Aviv University. A hard-toget audience with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

One force behind Pruitt’s eclectic agenda: casino magnate and Republican megadonor Sheldon Adelson, a major supporter of Israel who arranged parts of Pruitt’s visit.

The Israel trip was canceled days before Pruitt’s planned departure, after The Washington Post revealed his penchant for first-class travel on the taxpayers’ dime. But federal documents obtained by the Post and interviews with individuals familiar with the trip reveal that it fit a pattern by Pruitt of planning foreign travel with significant help from outside interests, including lobbyists, Republican donors and conservative activists.

Pruitt’s practice of involving outsiders in his travels raises serious ethical concerns, legal experts said; federal law prohibits public officials from using their office to enrich themselves or any private individual, or to offer endorsements.

After taking office last year, Pruitt drew up a list of at least a dozen countries he hoped to visit and urged aides to help him find official reasons to travel, according to four people familiar with the matter, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. Pruitt then enlisted well-connected friends and political allies to help make the trips happen.

Longtime Pruitt friend Richard Smotkin, for example, helped arrange Pruitt’s four-day visit to Morocco in December. Smotkin, who has not returned calls seeking comment, later signed a $40,000-a-month lobbying contract with the Moroccan government.

In Israel, Pruitt was scheduled to unveil an agreement with Water-Gen, a water-purification company championed by Adelson. Within weeks, Pruitt instructed his aides to find a way to procure Water-Gen’s technology, according to two officials. Water-Gen is now working with the EPA staff in Cincinnati to test its technology in hopes of obtaining a federal contract to provide drinking water in places where the water supply has been contaminated.