4/21/2018

EPA/ETHICS/SCOTT PRUITT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “Early in Scott Pruitt’s political career, as a state senator from Tulsa, he attended a gathering at the Oklahoma City home of an influential telecommunications lobbyist who was nearing retirement and about to move away. The lobbyist said that after the 2003 gathering, Mr. Pruitt — who had a modest legal practice and a state salary of $38,400 — reached out to her. He wanted to buy her showplace home as a second residence for when he was in the state capital…At the E.P.A., Mr. Pruitt is under investigation for allegations of unchecked spending, ethics lapses and other issues, including his interactions with lobbyists. An examination of Mr. Pruitt’s political career in Oklahoma reveals that many of the pitfalls he has encountered in Washington have echoes in his past.”

-Steve Eder and Hiroko Tabuchi, “Scott Pruitt Before the E.P.A.: Fancy Homes, a Shell Company and Friends With Money,” The New York Times online, April 21, 2018