DEMS/ETHICS/SCOTT PRUITT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “DemocratIc U.S. lawmakers asked embattled Environmental Protection Agency chief Scott Pruitt on Thursday [4-12-2018] to provide documents about ethics issues they said were revealed to them by a former agency official, including spending on bulletproof vests, weapons, and a contract with an Italian security service. The Democrats, including Senators Tom Carper, Sheldon Whitehouse and Rep. Elijah Cummings, met with Kevin Chmielewski, a longtime supporter of President Donald Trump and a former chief of staff for operations at the EPA, who spoke out against his former boss. In a letter to Pruitt, a copy of which was seen by Reuters, the lawmakers said Chmielewski provided them examples of wasteful spending on bulletproof vests, weapons, biometric locks and at least one SUV for Pruitt’s travel that could have been obtained from the General Services Administration. The letter said Chmielewski told them that Nino Perrotta, the special agent who leads Pruitt’s security detail, entered into a $30,000 contract with private Italian security personnel during a trip Pruitt took to Italy. The total cost of that week-long trip last summer has been estimated at over $80,000 by an EPA watchdog group.”
–Timothy Gardner, “Democrats ask EPA’s Pruitt for details on weapons, security buys,” Reuters, April 12, 2018 10:10 am