EPA chief asked for personal errands
Scott Pruitt wanted to find a job for his wife, ex-aide testifies
WASHINGTON— Samantha Dravis, former policy chief at the Environmental Protection Agency, told a congressional committee that Scott Pruitt, the administrator, asked her to help find his wife a job as a fundraiser at the Republican Attorneys General Association, according to two people familiar with the interview.
The fresh allegation that Pruitt enlisted a subordinate to perform personal duties comes on top of reports that he asked an aide to seek a business opportunity for his wife from the fast-food franchise Chick-fil-A, and that she received $2,000 from Concordia, a New York City-based non-profit that had asked Pruitt to speak at an event last year.
Pruitt, before taking the helm of the EPA, was the attorney general of Oklahoma and served two terms as chairman of RAGA, the Republican network for state attorneys general. The request to help his wife, Marlyn Pruitt, a former school nurse, find a job at the organization came during summer 2017, the people with knowledge of the interview said. Dravis, who then was the EPA’s associate administrator for the policy office, told congressional investigators that Pruitt hoped for his wife to earn a six-figure salary and asked her help in finding a political fundraising job with the attorneys general network.
Dravis told investigators she declined to reach out to the organization on Marlyn Pruitt’s behalf. She also told the investigators that she had cautioned Scott Pruitt that he would have to disclose his wife’s income on federal financial disclosure documents, and that he responded that he would create a limited liability corporation, according to the two people with knowledge of her interview, both of whom asked not to be identified because of the con- tinuing investigation.
John Konkus, an EPA spokesperson, said in a statement that the agency has not spoken with Dravis or the committee about her testimony, which was reported in the Washington Post. Andrew D. Herman, an attorney for Dravis, described her as “remarkably even-handed” in answering the committee’s questions about Pruitt’s activities.
“She is an honest broker and a very credible witness,” Herman said.
“She’s trying to just tell the truth and get on with her life.”
Cleta Mitchell, Pruitt’s attorney who is managing his legal defence fund, said she was not aware of the administrator asking for Dravis’ assistance. “I don’t know anything about that,” Mitchell said.
Mitchell, a longtime friend of Pruitt’s, said in a recent op-ed that she had volunteered her time to find Marlyn Pruitt em- ployment. Some EPA officials, she wrote, “may have taken it upon themselves to get involved in her job search.” The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee is conducting a sweeping inquiry into Scott Pruitt’s spending, ethics and management of the EPA, including his frequent first-class travel and the circumstances of a condo he rented from the wife of an energy lobbyist for $50 a night. There are 13 federal investigations, including the committee inquiry, into Pruitt’s actions at the agency.
Dravis as well as Ryan Jackson, Pruitt’s chief of staff, each spoke to the committee last week for several hours, accompanied by attorneys. Jackson, in an emailed statement, accused the committee of making his discussions public after asking him to remain silent.
“It appears they can’t honour their own request,” he said.