EPA/ETHICS/SCOTT PRUITT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “The acting Environmental Protection Agency chief, Andrew Wheeler, is bringing to the job a ‘change in tone,’ the agency said, that could shed greater light on the decisions and actions of EPA leadership. The EPA’s former administrator, Scott Pruitt, broke with his predecessors’ common practices of publishing a calendar online and announcing travel and speeches in advance. On Monday [7-9-18], EPA spokesman John Konkus said Wheeler ‘puts a premium on transparency…’ He did not respond to follow-up requests for additional details. A CNN investigation released shortly before Pruitt’s departure last week revealed his aides kept ‘secret’ calendars to conceal controversial entries, such as meetings with industries regulated by EPA, according to a former EPA official. The investigation found more than two dozen meetings described in emails sent or received by agency officials that were not included on Pruitt’s official schedule…In several instances, reporters who learned where Pruitt would be speaking were removed from the event or denied access. His calendar entries were released only after the Sierra Club and American Oversight filed public record lawsuits.”
–Gregory Wallace, “Acting EPA chief ‘puts a premium on transparency’,” CNN Politics, CNN.com, July 9, 2018 5:36 pm