Trump's EPA head & breaking the law: ‘privacy booth’ as part of pattern of misconduct
House Democrats want the Environmental Protection Agency’s office of inspector general to investigate the agency’s installation of a “privacy booth” for Administrator Scott Pruitt under the belief that the spending of taxpayer money on an “unprecedented” facility represents yet another example of misconduct by a Trump administration official.
Pruitt’s conduct during his short tenure as head of the EPA has already produced a long list of allegations of legal wrongdoing by the former top law enforcement official for the state of Oklahoma. Among the investigations underway is an inquiry into the EPA chief’s regular visits to his home state during his first months in office.
Earlier this year, the EPA reportedly instituted rules prohibiting employees from carrying cell phones and taking notes in meetings with Pruitt, restricting movement within the building, and requiring escorts. “If misused, and this facility is in fact a private communications booth, then this action would represent the latest action in a troubling pattern of secrecy and distrust at the EPA under Administrator Pruitt’s leadership,” the lawmakers wrote in their letter.
Even before the public became aware of his privacy booth, Pruitt — sworn into office less than eight months ago — was attracting widespread scrutiny for alleged misuse of agency funds, potential violation of a lobbying law, and holding secret meetings with officials from the industries his agency is tasked with regulating.
Although he promised a scaled-back EPA that would not overstep its legal authority, the installation of a privacy booth seemingly does not conform to a back-to-basics philosophy touted by Pruitt. The EPA reportedly is spending nearly $25,000 to build the soundproof communications booth, even though the agency’s headquarters already has a secure facility on another floor of the building.
The EPA also has beefed up Pruitt’s security team. He now has an 18-member security detail made up of armed personnel who guard him 24 hours a day, seven days a week, unprecedented for any previous EPA administration.
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LOCK HIM UP!!!!