Mr. Pruitt has evidently misunderstood the ecological mission to preserve swamplands.
1
When will this poor excuse for a cabinet member be relieved from his role as one of the swamp's worst creatures and why are our taxes being used to allow him to continue s life style he continues to abuse? There is no need to give him any more hearing as his actions speak much louder than his words. Either he should resign of get kicked out of the EPA and in either case be given a one-way coach ticket back to Oklahoma. What a disgrace and what is Congress waiting for?
5
He attended a private Mass at the Vatican? Perhaps Father Guido Sarducci can come out of retirement to explain how God forgives the sin of avarice even as the Sinner tramples on the values of the country he "serves" and ruins the environment for future generations.
2
HOW COULD SCOTT Possibly hear any objections? He was locked away in his soundproof phone booth.
2
National Lampoons World Vacation: With Scottie Pruitt, the pride of Oklahoma. Killing the planet, one taxpayer funded first class trip after another. Thanks, GOP. November.
5
Hopefully, this current mob of selfish, destructive corruptors in our government will be their LAST push to take back control of a population that is very much going in a different direction. Their influence will die quickly when the population takes the country back and makes the EPA accountable to the peoples health interests and not industry interests. Their days are numbered, their time is past. Science and reason will prevail.
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/04/02/scott-pruitts-dirty-politics
3
These lobbyists and meetings have little or nothing to do with the EPA's mission . . . or even to subverting the mission, which is clearly Pruitt's goal. Thank you NYT for shedding light on the fact that Pruitt is not only breaking administrative regulations, but is doing so in furtherance of personal agenda that is shared with his fellow kleptocrats.
6
In addition to being investigated and then prosecuted this rat $cott Pruitt needs to reimburse the US treasury for ALL of his first class travel, extra security, office 'cone of silence', etc., etc...
But he's doing a heck of a job for Koch Bro$, Mercer, and Trump AND all the polluting Industries (Coal, Oil, Chemical, et al).
David Shulkin former competent head of the V A paid back the government for his extra travel which included his wife, BEFORE he was fired.
Why not $cott ?
5
There is no end to Pruitt corruption. He is supposed to be protecting American citizens and the environment from those that would pollute and poison us for profit yet he is not only taking money from them, he is letting them destroy the EPA.
He and this administration destroy all sense of justice for the average citizen and really make me ill.
3
I private industry Scott Pruitt would be long gone. Terminated for cause.
1
As reprehensible as Pruitt's corruption may be, it still pales in comparison to the destruction his actions have on the planet. He has clearly sold out his soul and the well being of the planet for luxuries and status and is no doubt on the paycheck of various Kochs and oilophants. No doubt our tra- Duce likes him for taking the heat off his tales of collusion and obstruction - and so he will remain at the EPA until firing Pruitt makes him look good.
4
How’s that swamp draining coming along? There must be some kind of clog.
2
Maybe there is some hanky-panky going on with Pruitt and his traveling companions. I can't imagine the only drivers are money.
1
Please, just show this opportunist/white collar crook the door.
1
This job has awesome perks I would take this job without a salary.
1
In "honor" of the Trump Administration and little $cott Pruitt in particular (among MANY others!), the Oxford English Dictionary should have made KAKISTOCRACY* their word of the Four Years. Kleptocracy is a strong runner up.
* A Kakistocracy is a system of government which is run by the worst, least qualified, or most unscrupulous citizens.
In other words, THE Trump Team.
VOTE Them OUT. Then, lock them up. Just sayin...
5
Pruitt is the living, walking, talking persona of corruption and dishonesty. You can't separate the man from the swamp that fills his head and heart. That's the way the man has been all his life. That's the way he's going to be. Expect no improvement in the man. Greed for money and addiction to materialism increase with age; they seldom disappear or diminish. Like obituaries, the media can write stories of his corruption in advance. Only blanks would have to be filled as and when new revelations come out.
Another scary part about the continued presence of this man in government is the thought about the kind and character of people who have pushed him to the fore. You have to wonder about the favors and benefits those people must be deriving from Pruitt's position in government. Frightening, isn't it?
3
This guy thinks he's a Russian oligarch. It's too bad that no one qualified to be a real EPA administrator and replace Mr. Pruitt would work for President Trump.
1
As someone whose family has donated tens of millions to Catholic universities and the Archdiocese of Boston, with hundreds of millions more in the pipeline, I am outraged to learn “private masses” are being held at the Vatican with invitations held out for blatantly corrupt US politicians.
Sean, I’m talking to you. We never (ever) asked for or expected anything but good works in the name of Jesus for our gifts, although we appreciate the ministrations and flattery of your local Monsignors. I hope we never, ever hear again of private masses for the affluent and well connected whilst there remains even one afflicted person in our parish and Archdiocese. Disgusting.
3
45 and Company make Tammany Hall look like a bunch of Girl Scouts.
Instead of "draining the swamp", Mr. Trump and minions have transmuted the swamp into a fetid cesspool.
1
This fine fellow, $cott Pruitt, truly tops the list of Trump'$ "W o W" (worst of the Worst brigade). And that, my friends, calls for something special.
I suggest we go way back in time and bring back the STOCKS (and this has nothing to do with Wall Street). Those who have read a bit of history or seen old movies may remember that Stocks are wooden restraints that hold the perpetrator's arms and head immobile while he (or she) has to stand and withstand any jeers, insults, or thrown rotten tomatoes...
An ideal spot would be one of the small patches of grass near Washington's den of inequity aka The Trump Hotel.
In a fitting tribute to the EPA (of old) our new improved Stocks can be made from recycled plastics or for traditionalists, sustainable redwood or teak. (Durability is crucial as there are MANY more Trump team members and the man him$elf) who are worthy of this display.
I know, stop fantasizing, but jeez this is one of my coping mechanisms...
VOTE Them OUT
...the visit’s cost exceeded $100,000, including $16,217 for Pruitt’s Delta Air Lines fare and $494 for him to spend one night at a luxury hotel in Paris, accompanied by eight staffers and his round-the-clock security detail.
What does this Trash actually do? His sole function is to remove protections for our health and for our environment that took decades to build.
What Trash...
1
Scott Pruitt is just playing the Washington money game with such suave alacrity.
The political inbreeding between Pruitt, well connected lobbiest, prominent national and international business community is just part of the rotten game that keeps swamp rats like Puitt very rich and powerful, without really working. Why would he want to change jobs? But, he may want to use some deodorant!
Looking forward to Pruitt in jail. No environment for you, you rapist.
4
I'm wondering what business Mr. Pruitt had at the Vatican and if he felt it was necessary to be accompanied by his secret service there.
11
He had a confession load that required a team of experts. Or an exorcist.
Hey, what good is power if you can't abuse it, eh?
15
Yo, Scott. There's this terrific technology called web conferencing. It's a lot cheaper than what you've been spending flitting around at taxpayers expense. Give it a try.
12
Is it any wonder Pruitt can't protect our environment, he is too busy taking junkets.
11
Oh, the horror! The filth! Lock Pruitt up and throw away the key. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator? My eye!
1
EPA=Every Penny Accepted.
15
Pruitt is a con man, a corrupt official and a self-serving louse. He must be investigated and if found guilty, serve jail time for theft of taxpayers money and corruption. He is yet another in the pile of corrupt officials stinking up DC, under a republican controlled WH and congress that is cheering him on. What a disgrace to our flag and country!
19
Bravo ...
Now for part 2, replace Pruitt in your statement with Trump.
The fish stinks from the head.
You just can't make this stuff up. Hollywood should should put these clowns on staff as writers for over-the top melodramas. It's what happens when you vote a crook into the White House. Top down this is the worst cabinet in the history of the U.S.
10
Crony capitalism at it's finest. Scott Pruitt is literally a living, breathing criminal enterprise.
11
Pruitt - Please tell us Trump, why are you taking so long to DRAIN YOUR SWAMP??
4
Basins take longer to drain when you're refilling them.
It's clear Scott Pruitt wants to eliminate not only federal regulations governing the fossil-fuel industry, but also federal oversight of his rich-and-famous spending habits. In the hold-your-nose swamp of Republican hypocrisy, the end (deregulation) justifies the means (reckless accountability over taxpayer funds).
11
Innocent abroad
Scott Pruitt is to republican ethics as Sam Brownback is to republican economic policy as Donald Trump is to republican honesty.
In other words, each is a perfect example of the highest standards of the republican party.
7
Pruitt should be removed as head of the EPA just for wearing that ugly jacket he has on in the picture at left.
1
Oh my, they just come into their positions entitled corrupt, forgoing the usual eighteen month period it usually takes. Pruitt is a dandy James Watts!
5
The Democratic slogan for the 2020 election should be 'Drain the Swamp'.
5
People like Pruitt need serious jail time.
The benefits of their bad behavior totally outweigh the repercussions.
6
No, they need humorous jail time. Karmic slapstick.
Surprise! Oh Wait......
1
Trump is draining the swamp with Scott Pruitt--HAH!!
3
And then we have the nerve to put some other country's oligarchs on a blacklist for corruption.
3
The deplorables have gotten control of OUR governments and they are giving away OUR hard-earned taxpayer dollars while they put us so far in debt - to them - that we will never recover if WE THE PEOPLE do not stop them..
Get them OUT. All of them. NOW.
15
Pruitt needs to be investigated, indicted, criminally prosecuted and imprisoned for his actions, for stealing federal funds which we paid for with our taxes, for his irrelevant $16,000 first class air fare to Morocco, his meal in Rome which cost hundreds of taxpayer dollars, and the pro-rata reduction of his salary for the time he took to make this trip which was totally irrelevant to his federal job, but to advance his private businesses initiated while he was OK Attorney General.
Because he is the darling of the Koch Bros, is irrelevant. He should have used his contributions from them.
18
Perhaps the cost of Pruitt’s Victuals at the Vatican were “covered” by special interests .... Disgusting
Pruitt is another grifter fleecing the American taxpayers while Congress remains complicit in this mess. Hey Joni Ernest, the "Make them Squeal" candidate, where are your ethics about all this waste and abuse?
26
The quid pro quo may not occur until years later, when these individuals anonomously make generous contributions to PACs controlled by Mr. Pruitt or hire him at an inflated salary to lobby his former agency.
12
NYT should run and maintain a live tally of tax payer money Trump and his cabinet members are brazenly spending and net days away from office they are wasting on citizens' dime.
25
Well, at least now we know what the "magic phone booth"was for.
24
Oh, just the tiniest bit of corruption while sacrificing the health of the planet. Yeah, That's how this administration get stuff done
15
The level of corruption in our government is truly astounding.
Eliminating the corruption should be a huge priority for our representatives, but it’s obvious that they find the corruption to be more profitable, and that’s all they care about.
19
You know, if this guy actually cared about the environment, I’d have no issue with a few of his wasteful habits. Not this trip to Morocco, or that stupid cone of silence, but some of other stuff.
5
Eleven investigations are going on, regarding the criminal behavior of Pruitt. ELEVEN!
19
I have to admit, double digit investigations is impressive level of corruption.
1
Washington at its best or worst. For us Swamp dwellers, this barely causes a raised eyebrow. Business as usual.
What should shock one and all is how "normal" these trips are and how the media paid no attention to them under the Obama Administration when EPA officials and other officials took similar trips.
Pruitt is far from a model public servant, but neither were his predecessors. The MSM just liked them and cut them a pass.
1
Could you give us some examples of trips that the EPA officials took under Obama?
2
Mgaudet, you're going to have to wait for parkbench to respond as he won't find any truth to what he speaks. More faux news from the right.
But maybe the dissonance between holding positions in the EPA versus working to further destroy the environment wasn't so evident under Obama.
This Scott Pruitt, hopefully soon the former head of the EPA, seems like a lightweight tourist traveling and scrounging on the American taxpayers' dollars. Many of our dollars. He has always seemed to like the upscale life. As RLW Chicago asked, for what reason did the new EPA chief travel to Morocco? Give the public the reason. Where is the science that justified the travel or even the qualitative reason for it? And $40,000 for the helper in Morocco? Just another Pruitt bill. Just like Trump's other cabinet heads.
Here we are at home counting food stamps to see if we are going to make it until month's end feeding the children. And this unqualified guy Pruitt is busy traveling on our dime to tourist destinations and exposing these same children at home to coal dust, dirty water, and more dirty air from car exhaust. We'll have more medical and personal costs from increased childhood asthma and later pulmonary conditions in kids and young adults. This is the same guy who reduced Federal land boundaries to allow private sector companies to exploit resources. He benefits with his favorite hobby traveling to foreign lands, building sound proof phone booths (why? is he that paranoid?), and stripping the U.S. of Federal air and water and land protection. Us? We're waiting for the health threat shoes to drop from all of this, harming our families' future generations. Go to the polls and vote this November.
27
I loved my trip to Morocco a decade ago. The camel trek in the Sahara on XMAS EVE was truly amazing and then I sat on the ground in Marrakech and an old man polished my shoes. I paid him what he asked for and gave him and gave him a big tip with a big smile. I bet Scott Pruitt did none of that. These people, every one of them, belong in prison.
9
The swamp fillith up, with no drainage team or equipment in sight.
9
Of course, Corruption and poisoning/burning up our planet are profitable.
Scott Pruitt is the apex predator to lead all apex predators, and the earth is about to eject us all as we poison our earth, air, and water at speed.
31
What a waste of resources to field one of your top officials for such a visit. The current US administration is making the world's most powerful country look cheap. I wonder if they feel it that way.
10
Jan--Nah, they have no class, no integrity. Doesn't bother them, at all. There's money, and goodies, to be obtained.
3
All that government money spent on "official" travel, the soundproof "phone booth" in his office, and the EPA budget has been gutted. Maybe the money just went directly to Pruitt.
And what's with the soundproof "phone booth" anyway? What exactly is it that Pruitt does not want anybody to hear?
20
Please once more, What was the reason for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency chief's official visit to Morocco?
40
The only significant liquefied natural gas company in the US is owned by Carl Icahn, former Emirtus Advisor to our President. ( He stepped down after the all too cozy relationship was exposed especially after his questionable , timely stock sales right before Trump accounted the steel and aluminum tariffs.)Trump made Pruitt interview with Icahn before being offered the job; apparently Pruitt passed the test. This is payback to Icahn. It's not complicated: it's just the Trump White House.
26
RLW--To sell propane and LPG, making some donors richer, as the expense of taxpayers.
8
So that Scott Pruitt can continue to make contacts with the international energy industries, and do the bidding of the Koch Brothers. Perhaps we all missed the inside EPA underground cartoon...EPA---Energy Procurement & Assimilation
Which agency needs to investigate the Morocco trip?
Why did the government (taxpayers) pay for Pruitt's Morocco trip?
What does Morocco have anything to do with the EPA? What impact can it have on our policies and our living environments?
29
There has never been a deeper swamp.
These are private business and vacation trips - resulting in a nice kick-back.
Comcast, Morocco, in Rome anti-abortion lobbyism.
Remember: this guy should take care for air, clean water, land and nature of the US/the American people.
He is a criminal.
And yes he seriously deserves to be „locked up“.
33
Private business trips that are a conflict of interest and at the very least should be paid for by Pruitt himself. The word is is back charge, a construction term Trump should well be familiar with. How much longer until these abuses rise to the level of Trump's attention/ pain point?
Mr. Pruitt testified that the Moroccan ambassador invited him to the country to negotiate the environment portion of a free-trade agreement. He said the ambassador, Lalla Joumala, asked him to raise the issue of liquefied natural gas when he was in Morocco.
*******
Who, exactly is Mr. Pruitt working for. Because he's getting paid by me and the rest of the people who actually pay taxes. Should he really be representing the interests of foreigtn countries? Are we supposed to be relieved that he's not representing Russia and just shrug our collective shoulders? He needs to return to Oklahoma and stay there on his own dime.
57
Cronyism is not what the Trump voters were looking for.
People are not as ignorant as they were in the 1930's.
Wonder what is going to happen to Trump when his base of angry and betrayed men realize he is a parasitic con man that duped them into setting up his latest gravy train?
Too many to scare off.
21
I hope you’re right, but the Trumpists were still shouting ‘Lock her Up’ last Saturday.
15
Is "tarring and feathering" still an acceptable option to rid the country at last of this inherently corrupt and corrupting All-Star on the Trumpian Swamp Team, the lawless Pruitt? My God, what "working" luxury vacations are next on his world itinerary? A two week holiday in Tahiti, with full security detail, to monitor the effects of its sewage releases upon coastal California? Meanwhile, the earth's future is threatened every day by this environmental thug.
27
Tarring and feathering would be appropriate for this EPA chief because tar is a pollutant and Pruitt is a polluter (of our government as well as our environment)..
15
Well, it would be a fitting irony for Pruitt being tarred and feathered since he's completely in the pocket of big petroleum.
But since this is 2018 and WE (even if $cott isn't) ARE concerned about OUR environment... the sticky "tar" can be a non-toxic, water based synthetic.
As The Beach Boys used to sing, "Wouldn't it be nice..."
This warrants another investigation by the EPA inspector general and also another cross examination by Congress - such clear violations of ethics and yet he is still in office. Maybe Congress just draft articles of impeachment against Pruitt for his multiple ethic violations.
22
Pruitt is a man of God who just happens to be a good businessman and a shrewed politician.
The American people should be grateful to have such a rare combination leading the EPA.
And that helps protect the environment how?
7
Anyone can pose as a man of God. You must look at their actions, not their poses: “First John 4:1 “Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.”
8
Well, he IS a Man of God who sure spends a lot of taxpayer money when he has gobs of his own.......
1
Scott Pruitt is an obscene little man whose pathway to power was built on corruption, cronyism, phony christianity, and grifting. His performance in DC is getting attention now, but to fully understand how mendacious he is, listen to this Embedded podcast about his years before Washington. Only Trump would consider him for a cabinet post. How far we have slid ... https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510311/embedded
37
Is there a single portion of the Trump "administration" that isn't openly corrupt to the core? Like even one single human being in the entire organization who isn't overtly evil? This bunch is amazingly disgusting.
28
Of course Comcast is involved. They realized they would no longer be the worst pox on our country thanks to "covfefe", and so cut a deal through their "lobbyist" (briber) with Pruitt the phone-booth planet-burner to fix that.
Hypocritical government waste...it's Comcastic!
4
Drain the swamp and you find slimy creatures crawling around in the mud, or, in Secretary Pruitt's case, shimmying through the ooze in first class.
16
Instead of draining the swamp, Trump has constructed an open air "cesspool". For those not in the know, a cesspool stores (using a polite word) toilet waste. Swimming in the cesspool are Pruitt and the entire Trump cabinet. This article is an excellent example.
The head of EPA (Pruitt) supposedly appointed protect the U.S. environment spends millions of taxpayer dollars to set up Smotkin, a Comcast lobbyist, with lucrative contracts and a $40,000 a month salary in Morocco. Exactly how does this relate to environmental protection in the United Sates ?
18
Is there not some way for the government to measure what value is gained when taxpayers' money is spent....on anything? For instance, America just learned in the past few days that Pruitt's trip to Morocco cost us taxpayers more than $100,000. Has anybody checked to see what Taddeo's swearing-in ceremony at State is costing us taxpayers? It appears that there are way-too-many ways to take tax money and spend it on things we do not really need. Like a ritual we call a "ceremony". The Swamp has NOT been drained. And the number of alligators keeps growing larger. I am very glad to be very old.....
8
They are all bad but if there is one single Trump cabinet member that can be singled out for a a special helping of disgrace and humiliation, please let it be Scott Pruitt. It’s already obvious any sense of shame on his part is not possible.
8
Remove this criminal from office. He has no right to be squandering our tax money and our environment. He is a dangerous man who needs to be subject to the law. We are a country of laws!
17
I am being reminded of the movie, Misss Sloane. Except this lobbyist, Mr. Smotkin, it seems is guilty. Why don't the Republican voters care? Is it still not clear to them by now who the bad actors are?
4
Scott Pruitt can poison the air, water and the environment
from his office in DC. Why does he have to leave the
country with his entourage?
9
The corruption of this administration knows no bounds and Pruitt appears to be the most rotten of all. What was he doing in Morocco in the first place? Where are our Congressional watchdogs? DRAIN THE SWAMP!
8
Pruitt is an energy lobbyist masquerading as EPA Administrator. And he doesn't even try to hide that fact.
19
Scott Pruitt is bought and paid for with the best money lobbyist can throw at him. His behavior is disgusting! If this was any other person in any other administration they would have been summarily dismissed. Drain the Swamp? I don't think so!
11
Is anyone surprised? Pruitt is a crook taking from both the taxpayers & the lobbyists. Wonder what kind of commission he has gotten from the lobbyist after getting the guy hired by Morocco? There isn't enough money in the world to satisfy Pruitt's lust for power & wealth. He wants to be President so he is lining up donors by doing their bidding & getting them deregulation & jobs with foreign countries.
6
It will never happen but what the country needs is legislation prohibiting lawmakers from communicating with lobbyists.
8
There is so much rich material here that is perfect for a swamp, even a small island in a swamp filled with the muck from which we all came. Not enuf to go to Morocco for a business-related matter, not the EPA, but then to take along your cronies and enrich them at our, the poor taxpayer, expense. The mass, private f course like Pruitt's preferred method of travel and apparently life, at the Vatican. A fellow traveler Mr. Leo gets to drive the schedule, Leo while we're at it, a strong anti-abortion, anti-regulation guy who advises Trump on judicial nominees. Mein gott! Where and what are we doing w/these anti-Americans, anti-law, anti-transparency people!!? Get 'em out. And yes, questions to Pruitt like to POTUS. Why?
5
We're going to need a bigger swamp.
The most corrupt Administration in modern American history continues with another dose of daily self-enrichment.
Corruption for breakfast, lunch and dinner.... like any respectable 3rd-world backwater: Trump-Pruitt 2018
79
Why did Swamp Scott Prince Pruitt go to Morocco?
What EPA powers and mission was involved?
Why was so much staff taken along?
What caused the entire entourage to miss a 10 AM flight to Morocco and spend another night in Paris?
Why were these days the only ones an employee showed up for?
Swamp Scott clearly compensated for Free rent for his daughter.
106
Why did Scott Pruitt have to go to Morocco in December? That's like me telling my boss I'm going to Hawaii in January for a convention. Wink, wink.
74
Whether it's Pruitt or one of the others in this administration, Trump has shown with his choices that he is flooding the swamp and not draining it.
41
Always wanted to visit Morocco. I had no idea they were big environmentalists. Mr Pruit is brazenly helping himself to the spoils of victory. I am thinking he wants to live like the boss with all that glitters. Fire him! Nothing to think about here. What a sham!
104
Can you say "kleptocracy," boys and girls?
When is Pruit going to prison?
112
Hey, Mr. Swamp Drainer, how about starting with the slimiest of your (remaining) appointees, the man who never met a lobbyist he didn't get something out of (and get something for), Slimeball Pruitt. Your Base remembers hearing your campaign promise about draining swamps, not filling them. And, while you are at it, how about dumping your Vetter-in-Chief, after all the firings and resignations you had in the first fifteen months? What, YOU are the ViC??? PERFECT -- if you get my intent.
Seriously, what I don't get is what you owe Pruitt (or what he has on you) that makes you cling to him like a leech, even more than you cling to that Russian about whom you can not say anything bad and whom you warn when you send bombs near his troops in Syria. All Flynn did was get caught lying to the Veep before you fired him (you could have cared less about his lying to the Feds). With Comey we are not sure since you have a different reason every time someone asks you. I know Tillerson had the temerity to speak his mind as SecState before you excommuni-tweeted him. Maybe Mueller should call Pruitt in for a wide-ranging chat about what he knew and when he knew it....
48
The absolute worst of " the best people ". THIS guy is living like a Prince, while merrily spoiling the Planet. Lock Him UP. Preferably inside his soundproofed phone booth, placed elsewhere. I have some suggestions for THAT location, but alas, I'm moderated. Use your imagination.
Thanks, GOP. November.
80
The swamp is an active and beguiling place these days.
14
Let them eat cake...
Sound familiar, Scott??
28
There is no attempt to hide the appearance of impropriety. This is called political sociopathy. Mr. Pruitt is unaware of any ethical and moral issues, a pathology he shares with many in today’s government.
92