Mr. Pruitt's lack of regard for our our air, water and environment will cause harm to the health of the earth as well as the health of Americans. He simply is not fit to head the EPA.
4
seriously? NYT puts two reporters on a used mattress story? Pruitt must be more effective than I realized....
1
How petty but how typically Trumpian. It is all about me not serving the country.
2
Is it the one used by Stormy?
4
How's that "clean the swamp" thing working out for you?
10
This lady obviously was not a real Federal Civil Servant as I was for 36 yrs. My answer to him would have been .... kiss my behind, I'm not your personal servant. His religious stand would have made it even more emphatic.
5
How does he behave at an "all you can eat" buffet?
2
Kind of like “ I can pardon myself” but on a smaller scale.
I’m reminded of Peter Otoole’s “I stand outside myself, watching myself, watching myself”!
1
The mattress bit is what John Oliver will highlight next weekend, and I can't wait to see what he does with it. But the more disgusting angle is the fact that Pruitt had an "aide" acting as a gopher in her off hours, and then he approved her outrageous raise just months later.
What's the best path to career advancement at today's EPA? Applying decades of scientific and administrative expertise to the task of keeping our air and water safe? Heck no. It appears to be running errands for the director on lunch hours, vacation time, and on weekends.
Someone needs to ask Scott Pruitt to define public service. Under oath.
10
Then again, there doesn't seem to be much protecting of the environment going on at EPA these days, so maybe running errands is just busy work.
3
Ladies and gentlemen, meet the most unethical person next to Donald J. Trump – Edward Scott Pruitt!
11
Pruitt is a representative of the Party which wanmts to force those who need Medicaid to "find jobs." They worry a great deal that someone might be getting something - like medical care - for "nothing" simply because they need it. In the mean time, the Pruitts of the party expect EVERYTHING to be given to them - for nothing. It is not enough to destroy the agency, I guess, and to demand first class seats and"protection" from the rest of us. He expects personal servants and free mattresses to boot. Sickening lack of ethics, with a fillip of extremely tacky taste.
8
Why did the used mattress have to come from a Trump hotel? Pruitt wants some weird souvenirs of his boss, Trump.
9
The gall of Mr. Pruitt to abuse his position so blatantly at the expense of the American people is made infinitely more sickening when one considers his primary motivation is to do as much harm to the environment as he is legally allowed to do.
The American people have their wallets open for him to engage in open bribery, deceit and corruption, all while he denies science and hires more and more industry lobbyists to regulate the industries they formerly worked for.
This is the swamp. This is government for sale. This is intolerable, unacceptable, and deeply worrying for the future of our country. If we cannot remove this swamp creature over his many documented transgressions against the American people, what chance do we have of toppling his boss?
12
By instructing a subordinate, who happens to be a woman, to run errands like securing her boss an unsoiled, used mattress from the Trump Hotel, Scott Pruitt provides us with a casebook example of sexism, where men illegally and immorally exert power and authority over women. I hope women take this into account when they vote.
7
Let me put a big surprise face on...the only place to buy used mattresses was a Trump Hotel? This administration, by any definition is a criminal enterprise.
10
The swamp has finally reached its’ bottom...
3
Well, at least for once he seems to care about the environment... a Cabinet minister buying a second hand mattress on the cheap for his personal use seems better than having it discarded in a land fill....an all too common fate for old mattresses! Not only that it shows a certain amount of personal courage....would you buy a used mattress from Donald Trump?
5
This is just like India where civil servants perform menial duties for their political overlords. And those overlords fly first class, decorate their offices and spend time flying on jets on tax payer money. Wow.
I’m willing to give the guy the benefit of the doubt; as EPA secretary he was trying to set a good example by reducing mattress waste in landfills.
1
REALLY ???? I guess you must wallowing in the swamp with the rest of the WH circus clowns. This is, without a doubt, the worst lot of “gimme” grabbers, fancy pants liars and amoral connivers to ever inhabit the WH. I would love to see how the history books, some 50 years down the road, will try to explain away the corruption and lack of integrity of this crowd. “Benefit of the doubt ........... hardly!
3
I wonder why he tried to get that used mattress. Incriminating evidence?
4
More corruption from Pruitt? No surprise there. But a millionaire --albeit, *only* a 7-digit one-- buying a used mattress? Suddenly, I have a different reason to be nauseated by him.
8
Why wasn't this guy fired long ago?
4
How does Mr. Pruitt live with himself?
5
why is anyone surprised? The Trumpists see government as a way to make their own lives more comfortable, steer riches to their friends and family, all while sanctimoniously telling us what wonderfully unprecedented job they are doing.
5
“Pruitt apparently believes the agency is at his service to attend to his personal needs, whims and desires ... Usually public servants think they are working for the public.” I agree with the first part, Mr. Pruitt is a poster boy for "drunk with power". But the second part seems to be less and less true, with many (most?) officials seeing their position as self-service rather than public service. Their time is spent meeting with big donor lobbyists, gerrymandering to avoid competition, suppressing unsupportive voters, and conniving to embarrass "the other side". No time left for "working for the public".
1
Each time the NYTimes publishes another anti-Pruitt piece, his estimation surely goes up in the President's mind. He'll probably be the next Attorney General.
Yeah. That's pretty bizarre, isn't it? How do you explain the obvious disconnect between this man's complete lack of ethics and Trump's high opinion of him?
1
Just remember the trumpet’s “high opinion” is coming from pretty low ground when you look back at his lack of business integrity as in excluding people of color as residents in his father’s apartment complexes, fake university, under paid and illegal foreign workers at many of his business sites while he rants and raves about getting rid of immigrants at the same time. And, that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
On my screen, there is an ad for an online mattress company located just above the headline of the article.
Nicely done, NYT.
7
Pruitt thinks he deserves all of this special treatment. I wonder how much he fleeced the State of Oklahoma for luxurious treatment while he was serving as the Attorney General.
Perhaps those records from Oklahoma might shine more light on Mr. Pruitt's entitlement attitude.
It might be time to have psychiatric evaluations for all of the Trump Cabinet. They all seem to be suffering from the same disease.
It's called eating at the public trough.
4
Not long ago, I found an old mattress someone had dumped into the normally pristine Battenkill. Apparently, Scott Pruitt, or one of his servants, dumped his old mattress in the sacred trout waters so he could cadge a bedbug-infested used mattress from Trump’s DC hotel. Now that’s a class act.
1
Was the aide instructed to sniff it first?
Uncharted waters here, campers. Uncharted waters.
6
Mattressgate! It would be funny if it wasn't also so terribly, terribly wrong. For all his fancy ways, why in the world would Pruitt want a USED mattress? Oy, the bed bugs!
7
If an adult does something so silly as do errands for a boss, then that person has to take full responsibility for, in fact, being silly.
1
What if that person happened to be a woman who was afraid of losing her job?
5
At what point is enough is enough on Secretary Pruitt?
2
No that explains the guy in a hurry with a mattress on top of his car.
I'd have made sure the mattress had bedbugs, lice, and ringworm.
Scott Pruitt is a creature of the swamp. Through his unethical appropriation of the federal government's resources for personal use, he is taking directly from me--a voter, tax-payer, and US citizen!
9
It isn't obvious what the role of a 'used mattress' is about in this article. I suppose it could mean the EPA chief was 'going to the mat', a common metaphor used in covert symbolic communication for 'they were going to get serious'.
Another explanation is that the Trump Administration is attempting to overthrow the rule prohibiting the sale of used mattresses in D.C. that contain an infectious or contagious disease.
According to the Code of the District of Columbia; Chapter 5. Manufacture, Renovation, and Sale of Mattresses. § 8–502. Unlawful acts. "(A) Any mattress which has been used, or is composed in whole or in part from material which has formed part of any mattress theretofore used in any sanitarium or hospital or by any individual having an infectious or contagious disease;..."
I suspect that the used Trump Hotel mattress wasn’t in fact for his own use, but probably for someone else he owed some nasty favor to. My reasoning: it is already proven that Mr Pruitt only stays in 4-Star and above hotels and flies first class. He only uses economy when it’s for someone else, certainly not himself.
1
Eight years of a president who was intellient, articulate, compassionate, rational, honest and forward-thinking, and only two scandals... a slow website and a tan suit.
Now we have daily scandals that are far worse than a slow website and a tan suit.
8
So did someone put, like, a bazillion dollars in small bills in the used mattress? Can't imagine why anyone would want such a thing otherwise.
5
He's his own Super-fund dump of personal ethics! But even if he were as pure as Ivory Soap, his actions on behalf of the polluting industries would earn him a special place in hell.
Scott Pruitt has no shame. He's the perfect cabinet secretary for Donald Trump. I'm afraid he will be around for as long as he wants to be, not matter what he does.
7
Just as in "Casablanca" I am shocked, shocked to find that gambling is going on in here!!. The amount of personal errands done for government officials by staff is staggering. So much so that regulations or not it is part of the job description. I had to buy a house for one!! Mortgage, inspection, the whole deal!! Home repairs, check. Pay personal bills, check. Help juggle multiple women. Check. I drew the line at doing laundry. It's as bad or worse in private sector DC with a boss sending a note to staff informing them of a home party and pressing everybody in to service as bartenders and cooks. This "shocking" EPA stuff is just the tip of a very large iceberg that has broken off due to global climate change.
6
Gowdy is upset because the truth came out. All of the GOP seems very worried about different truths making it into the sunlight. Pruitt would have been fired by now in even the worst-run private sector business. But swamp denizens look out for one another. Remember in November; but make noise now.
12
Why am I not surprised? Texas prison wardens of old forced prisoners to perform personal errands, and Scott Pruitt, from neighboring Oklahoma, was simply carrying on with the tradition.
5
I used to teach in Oklahoma; it has no bright spots. Texas is infinitely more open and ethical.
An overused saying, but so appropriate: you cannot make this stuff up.
11
News reports said he wasn't even paying the $50 a night for the lobbyist's condo. The only way they finally got him out of there was to change the locks.
Why is Pruitt such a cheapskate? Where's his money going?
1
non disclosure agreements
And? Pruitt is still in office. When will he be held to account?
4
Aside from the obvious ethical questions, AGAIN, a used mattress??? Really??? From a hotel no less. The mind reels.
9
I'm sorry: did you just say Pruitt was trying to purchase a used, Trump-related mattress?
7
Pruitt is tight with his money (mattress)
Pruitt is a drunken sailor with our money (luxury hotel rooms)
"Three groups spend other people's money: children, thieves, politicians. All three need supervision." Dick Armey
8
Seems gross Mr Pruitt.
But what you do in your private time is your affair.
Just stop wasting my tax dollars to do it you shill.
10
Pruitt will go down in history as the biggest all time abuser of government funding ever and this will make Trump madder then hell because he wanted that title.
6
I have so many questions about this mattress. It's certain, to me at least, that he wasn't simply looking for a mattress to sleep on. You don't buy used mattresses, esp from a hotel. More likely he was looking for a specific mattress.
15
What does it take to get fired in this Administration for unethical/illegal/statutory conduct violations all over the board, including receiving gifts and pay-for-play? Pruitt should be fired and then indicted, and America should watch closely to see if Trump offers him a pardon. It's past time for a course correction--it's time to clean house, beginning with the head--in this case, Pruitt's. Watch Republican reaction; vote out anyone who supports Pruitt, and then repeal and replace the Pretender in the White House!
20
The media has reported *numerous* ethical violations and incidents of financial abuse of his position by pruitt and his staff over the past month. We get it. But when is this creep going to be brought to justice?
Regulations have no meaning unless they're enforced.
31
Well I can answer that question for you: never. Who is going to punish Pruitt? The GOP-controlled House? The GOP-controlled Senate? The GOP-controlled SCOTUS? Of course not. Even if Americans retake the House in November, they're going to be too busy trying to stop Trump from handing the country over to Russia to care about a petty thief.
5
Wasn't Pruitt concerned about bedbugs in a used hotel mattress? Used furniture of any type is suspect these days.
4
That's your takeaway? Scary.
5
Used mattress from a Trump hotel. What a class act.
However much I loathe Pruitt, I think first-class travel or even private planes make sense for cabinet people. Economy class travel is exhausting and changing planes nowadays wastes many hours since connections are unreliable.
That said, he is doing huge damage to this country and the world.
4
your personal opinion is not relevant.
Guidelines for government employees is that they fly coach.
Breaking the rules is, by definition, corruption.
10
There are no more delays at the back of the plane than there are at the front of the plane.
10
So much for Republican oversight. To allow Pruitt to keep his job, the GOP is telling us they are the Party of corruption, the true deep state - all of them.
27
What's the problem? Is there a problem? I'm sure this is not the first time something like this has happened in the Federal government, and it certainly will not be the last. My recommendation: chill out until something really important happens. Thank you.
Southern Boy,
Every time I read a post of yours, I'm convinced you're trying to see how many readers you can fool into thinking you're serious.
13
Yes. I really want what HE is smoking. Seriously.
2
@D. Price,
No, I 'm just expressing a point of view that many Americans hold, especially of those of us who have long grown tired of liberal hypocrisy. When I write that I support President Trump, I am serious, I am not joking. Thank you.
This is not surprising. Whether political appointees or even high ranking military officers, the worst ones put subordinates through the wringer to try to get upgraded seats on airlines, hotel accommodations (Waikiki vs any of the military transient quarters in Honolulu) and other benefits. When these are not permitted these same people berate the subordinates - how unfair is that? While there are some benefits to any high ranking job, it is the epitome of tacky to use a subordinate to get every undeserving benefit you can. Do your own travel plans! And don't blame subordinates for refusing to pull a fast one - they know if they do their entitled bosses will quickly disavow any knowledge.
Pruitt is the type specimen for Trump's administration, using his office to not only enrich himself, but to ruin our environment and our public discourse. In any other administration, Pruitt's insider discussions with energy companies, his disdain for our environment, and his willingness to abuse his position for personal gain would be front-page news for weeks. In this administration, it's just Monday.
13
The late night comics are going to have a field day with this... "used mattress from the Trump hotel", really?
Of course what is not a joke is the damage Mr. Pruitt and this administration are doing to the environment. This proves how important votes by an informed public are; let's work to fix this in 2018 and 2020 and beyond and never let this happen again.
17
This little man commits outrage after outrage against the American taxpayer and yet he's still embedded at the EPA in spite of eleven federal investigations . What does it take to remove him as head of the EPA ? He needs to be prosecuted and jailed pronto and made to repay the taxpayer .
10
like President Trump, Mr. Pruitt has an aristocratic attitude. he's at or near the top of the heap and everyone else is the help.
Trump seemingly doesn't have any trouble scrounging up these Neanderthals and getting them to agree to become his vassals.
a key bargaining chip: making most of us into serfs.
this is not my America; it's more like pre-revolutionary Russia.
8
Patriots! Let’s get a class action lawsuit started to sue the fraudulent Pruitt-led EPA and recover taxpayer money that has been spent on Pruitt’s waste, from air fair to paying the high-level salary of someone, so they can be Pruitt’s lackey. This is not just wrong, it is THEFT. Pruitt is regularly guilty of stealing from taxpayers in order to improve his own life and self-worth. Thrives!
12
Looking on the bright side, re-using an old mattress is environmentally responsible. That's a first for Pruitt -- and no doubt the only part of the story he feels any shame about.
6
An " old mattress " from the Trump Hotel. Is this some new kink, or just something to get around the " rules " ??? Seriously weird.
10
The Trump Hotel in Washington is new. It would not have had "used" mattresses.
3
Sure it would. The day the first guests stayed there it had used mattresses.
3
Trump hires only best people.
5
Used Mattress? Pruitt must be broke (those living beyond their means are magnets for corruption and bribes)
1. Scott Pruitt's salary as OK AG was $132K a year, his wife does not work, and he got a $850K mortgage in 2012 with a monthly payment of $5,500 on a monthly take-home salary of ~$8K,
2. He was kicked out of the $50/night place he was crashing at and was homeless in DC, but then he scheduled a bunch of work trips so that he'd have hotel rooms to sleep in at night.
He's not frugal - he's broke & in big debt. An ethics flashing red light.
12
Elle, you hit the nail right on the head. Pruitt had to disclose his financial holdings to take the EPA post. His net worth was published in my local newspaper. My wife and I have more cash than Mr and Mrs Pruitt.
1
Nah, he's not broke. He's corrupt. He's flush.
The reeking stench of corruption hangs heavy on Pruitt.
He's the perfect stooge for a deeply corrupt administration.
3
Unfortunately, these stories just serve to improve Pruitt's standing with Trump. The more idiotic and corrupt and individual in his administration is, the better Trump likes it. Obviously, he literally gets a kick out of screwing the Government he's supposed to serve.
Sadly, the only way to get rid of these parasites like Pruitt is to Impeach the head parasite, Trump. A GOP-led congress will continue to do nothing but drag these investigations out while Pruitt enriches himself and destroys the environment in the process.
6
Hey, how much for that Trump Trash ?
I'll give you $100 and all of my personal dignity.
35
It has been my experience that those who offer personal services to their boss are most apt to be the ones requiring such from their subordinates. Rather than a hierarchy of merit, it becomes a great hierarchy of personal service to higher-ups.. Instead of those at the top servicing others, we end up with everyone serving those at the top. That wasn't the original idea behind democracy. But it seems to be to the taste of present leadership. It is the backward evolution of government.
22
Why would anyone want a used/old mattress from a hotel?
97
If you are filthy from within, it doesn't matter.
15
From a trump hotel, no less!
Right, tinhorse.
If you run a low-rent boarding house, I guess, or a down-in-the-mouth motel.
People where I live sometimes put old couches out for anyone to pick up, or battered tables... I can't think I've seen a mattress.
It's odd; shivery odd.
2
Was it one particular mattress, or would any one do?
50
How is it that Pruitt is coated with Teflon ? Nothing seems to stick to the guy. What does he have on Trump that makes him immune ?
40
he has oil and gas and coal sponsors in tow.
plus, he is a big symbol for the Bible Belt.
6
@Peter Tobias
Pruitt was selected for the EPA slot by the Koch brothers, who hate the EPA, they won't care if he engages in corruption or profiteering.
2
We pay this guy to subvert the public health mission of the agency with our tax dollars ?
And apparently we also paid his personal shopper a six figure salary with our tax dollars ?
Clearly unethical.
But what about the ethics of this guy trying to get a sweetheart deal for himself from his boss's business?
How is that not unethical?
(also- what is it about this administration and used mattresses? Yuck.)
(Oh- and speaking of tax dollars - WHERE are those tax returns ? )
39
Does Scott Pruitt need a valet to help him put his pants on in the morning? He reminds me of those hapless members of the British upper class in P. G. Wodehouse's comic novels - the ones so inept they can't so much as draw a bath without the assistance of their personal servant. Or maybe it is Thurston Howell III he reminds me of. Yes. And Pruitt also deserves his very own own yacht - shipwrecked on an abandoned island, safely away from the levers of power.
38
A used mattress from a hotel? At his economic level?
18
Used mattress? Can't he figure out how to buy a new one and make the American tax payer pay for it like he does everything else?
74
A used mattress from a hotel? Seriously? I'll take the couch, please.
27
When I saw the headline, I assumed the mattress was used by him, possibly in an indiscrete manner? And he wanted the evidence. In this administration anything is possible.
1
It's known as CORRUPTION.
44
“I have only the best people!”... - Republicans, how much longer?
72
An used mattress from trump international? Why would you want a used hotel mattress? Just to say you have a trump international hotel mattress? Or did he think he could get it for free? Weird and weirder. Pruitt needs to go.
23
He was doing it to curry favor with King Donald. Also, because he's cheap with his own money.
8
Well, at least he is helping protect the environment.
Oh, wait...
18
Pruitt is a corrupt criminal of the first order. He will continue his immoral, unethical, corrupt criminal behavior as long as the Republicans continue to enable him and Trump. Or democracy and our institutions are on the verge of crisis!
15
The hypocrisy over Pruitt is staggering. Would most any conservative lawmaker give anyone but another conservative a pass on such egregious violations of practice? Would they tolerate this behavior from a liberal?
What about Trump supporters, all gung-ho to condemn any and all liberals for the slightest violation, but ol' boy Scott gets a pass since he's deregulating the heck out of the environment.
It's hard to see how there can ever again be political compromise with such willful displays of looking the other way. The Republican Party is completely morally and ethically bankrupt.
38
And -- let's not forget -- intellectually.
Seriously, this grifter has got to go. Congress has not held Pruitt accountable for his corruption. They are complicit.
Talk about milking this position for all it's worth. Literally.
22
When will we all stand up and say enough is enough? All crooks like this out or in jail including king don I.
9
A 'used' hotel mattress, for big spender Pruitt? I find that very hard to believe. More likely he was abusing his position fishing for a brand new freebie.
15
He gives new meaning to the old expression, "Scott free."
44
Ethics free from birth.
2
Scott Pruitt is the most dangerous and a con man alive in the world today. He is destroying our environment for his cronies and for himself. He is so cruel.
16
Does it matter? The pardoner-in-chief can erase any punishment.
6
It's good to be the King
2
Why hasn't this idiot been fired? He is destroying years of scientific evidence that has lead the world in making it a safer place in this age of chemicals and on top of that, he is corrupt and doesn't seem to care who knows it. A perfect Trump loyalist.
63
To the supporters of our current POTUS, you still think he's working for you? How's that swamp draining thing working out for you all?
12
The most disgusting part of this is that anyone would actually want an old mattress from a hotel. Gross.
55
Well, as the EPA chief we all know he is SO concerned with the environment; he probably just wanted to keep the old mattress out of the landfill, right??
While letting oil drilling commence in the Alaskan Wildlife Refuge.
7
Exactly. That he wanted it says all.
Stench, anyone?
Swamp, meet Pruitt. Pruitt, swamp. Enough already. Let's acknowledge Trump hires the worst people and be rid of this bum.
14
One can only wonder whether Mr. Pruitt requested that his personal assistant acquire the mattress used by Richard Spencer or Anthony Scaramucci when they stayed at the Trump International hotel in D.C. Or perhaps he was merely hoping to acquire the mattress Trump allegedly used at the Ritz Carlton - Moscow as detailed in the Steele dossier? The real question is why this man is still running the EPA?
29
This administration makes even the most mundane task such as purchasing a mattress seem difficult and fraught with controversy. Hopefully the adults will once again play a meaningful role in our government after November.
13
What gets me most is looking for an old mattress. How much is an air mattress at a store or online?
29
Or, ooh ick, why would he want a used mattress from a hotel to sleep on? Oooh, ick!!!!
8
A used hotel (Trump hotel!) mattress at that! Yuck. I know that civil servants aren't the mostly highly paid members of the work force, but surely Mr. Pruitt could do better than sleeping on a used hotel mattress.
1
I'm sure with a wink and nod he expected a brand-new mattress at "used" prices. These penny-pinching fraudsters are all alike. Rules are for other people.
17
I have no problem with a federal employee at Pruitt's level traveling business class. The notion that it is for security reasons is preposterous. I also have no problem with the idea of a few federal employees whose business it is to ease the transition of senior officials to WDC (help with finding an apartment or a moving company, etc.) in much the same way that an efficient HR department in private industry might. Sounds like a job for GSA, not some taxpayer paid 'personal assistant.' I think Pruitt is totally unsuited to the job for myriads of reasons which have nothing to do with his judgment about his personal dealings.
7
Any other federal crimes you have no problem with Trump and his co-conspirators committing? Treason? Accepting Bribes? Money Laundering? Stiffing the USA by playing golf and watching TV and using Twitter and laying in a tanning bed all day instead of showing up for work?
4
What you may think and government ethids rules are not the same thing. Pruitt and his family are required to spend their own time and resources to take care of personal projects including finding their own apartments and furniture.
1
FFS FWS - how did you get there from what I said?
No position-abusive behavior is evidently beyond Mr. Pruitt. When a public-spirited EPA chief is so sorely needed, imagine having wound up with Mr. Pruitt.
31
Certainly not of character. So when are all these violations going to be accounted for?
Think of the 60 indictments following the Nixon administration and then the 39 sentences handed out.
I see a rosy future ahead.
60
The rosiness of the future you see comes from the rosiness of your glasses. No one in this Administration is going to jail. The very few that are indicted will be pardoned. Only Congress is in a position to hold anyone in the Executive accountable -- and, I promise you, the GOP is not in the least interested. Scott Pruitt, for instance, is doing exactly what the GOP wants him do -- namely, eliminate environmental regulations -- and if he is corrupt -- well, so what?
What disturbs me even more than the Republican Party tolerating this lawlessness -- enabling this lawlessness -- is that large swathes of the electorate also do not seem to care. There's a good likelihood the GOP will hold the Senate this fall. One can only imagine the victory dances they hold over the crumpled ruins of our constitution.
19
Is there any bottom to this? I'm living in Canada right now and the Prime Minister here is still apologizing for going on vacation 4 years ago and staying with some wealthy people. Seriously, how low can you go?
38
Right. That prime minister should be reprimanded.
But we're more tolerant down here.
1
How could anybody possibly be surprised by this type of behaviour from Scott Pruitt, who as Attorney General of Oklahoma not only showed an unmistakable tendency toward extravagence in freely spending of taxpayer dollars, but even by reimbursing himself for the campaign while running for that office.
Will America ever wake-up?
99
Did anyone think this guy, who’s main qualification for EPA Chief is his willingness to destroy the environment for profit, would pay any attention to anti-corruption laws in America?
135
In 30 plus years of corporate life, I encountered more than a few "Scott Pruitt" types...thought they were the smartest people in the room, viewed the rules as not applying to them, had no time for the people that actually made the enterprise go, hired or tried to hire lots of cronies, and abused their expense accounts ("whatever I want, I get") and support staffs (turning them into babysitters, valets, personal shoppers/schedulers, etc.)....Most observers knew it was only a matter of time and that it wouldn't end well for them....And it never did....Why do I have the sinking feeling that in this case it will be different? Seriously, where is the accountability for this kind of behavior?
132
none!Trump pardons are a dime a dozen. snatch all you can while the grabbing's good... then get away Scott free!
8
The truly crazy thing is that this may be by far the LEAST troubling abuse of power and/or corruption of which Pruitt is accused! I understand all such abuses should be investigated, but c'mon... in weighing up Pruitt's misconduct this barely even registers on the scale. Imagine if the end of Nixon's impeachment articles there was a final paragraph reading: "Oh, and he never reimbursed the Secret Service the $30 he owes them for those pizzas he had them pick up!"
Maybe Congress can circle back to this once this business with the $50 D.C. condos, retaliatory workplace policies, first-class flights and, of course, outright corruption is sorted out.
9
Mr.Pruitt is so busy meeting with coal barons and oil magnates and attending University of Kentucky basketball games that he really has no time to find an apartment that is not provided by a lobbyist.What to do?If you are Mr Pruitt you enlist an employee paid by the government to do the menial work.This is illegal in addition to his cancelling legislation that would assure us of clean air and water.
26
The mattress would seem to be odd, but many seem to be overlooking the misuse of a subordinate here or simply accepting it. His defense seems to be that he didn't pay her regardless that such unpaid use is expressly prohibited. Simply, the rules don't apply to me.
25
Speaking for myself, not overlooking the ethical implications. However, after the first class flights, cone of silence purchase, scamming a sublet from a lobbyist’s wife, etc etc etc, nothing would surprise me about this grifter. Purchasing a used mattress, unless one is a penniless college student, that just boggles the mind. And turns the stomach.
8
As an individual sickened by Mr Pruitt's lawless and shameless behavior I also feel I have no recourse. What has happened to the adults in the US Congress to tolerate such slimy behavior? I understand the need to vote in November but I sense no swell of reaction to the lack of ethics and responsibility at the national level.
41
So if taxpayers are footing the bill, pruitt goes first class, but when the money has to come out of his own pocket he's so cheap that he'll buy a used mattress. That's gross in about 12 different ways.
52
Over and over again, the Republican party is proving that their concern for ethics, family, and responsible spending - these were only a fraud, a method of attacking their political enemies, not something they believed that they themselves had to live up to.
If any of their speeches were true, Congress would have long ago booted Pruitt - and so many others.
40