Some great legal mind Pruitt is. If he set up an LLC to disguise his wife's earnings, it wouldn't work because LLC income is pass-through income that must be reported on an individual's federal income tax return.
8
Anybody who looks at Scott Pruitt's wife's resume can see that there is no way she could command a $200,000 salary, unless the employer expects that they are buying favorable outcomes from the administrator of the EPA. Scott Pruitt has nothing else of value, so he's putting our environment up for sale.
13
I have actually started feeling sorry for this group of fools.
If they and their family members are so very unqualified that they need professional help and access to line up jobs, or an interview to run a franchise of a Chick-fil-A, how did they end up heading agencies and departments in DC?
7
In a way Pruitt represents how corrupt the president is comfortable with having a member in his administration act. Pruitt is unethical and dismantling and disrupting our safeguards for environmental protection.
10
Pruitt repeatedly abuses the power of his office to an extent far greater than David Shulkin ever dreamed of doing at the VA, yet Shulkin is long gone.
Meanwhile, Pruitt is free to spend outrageous amounts of money he doesn’t account for while dismantling regulations that protect our water and air. To add insult to injury he is optioning mining rights in the National Monuments past Presidents protected, and with the wave of a pen Trump unprotected just because he can.
Pruitt takes advantage of his cabinet position to find his wife a job but Andrew McCabe is fired from the FBI because his wife ran for office as a Democrat and accepted PAC contributions. Mitch McConnell is Senate majority leader while his wife is transportation secretary. The appearance of conflict of interest apparently only applies to Democrats.
How much longer must we tolerate this insult to our intelligence? Or the decimation of our public lands? Once they’ve raped the land we cannot get it back.
America the [formerly] Beautiful
Fortunately in California,
“An environmental group said Tuesday that it is acquiring a grove in Northern California with hundreds of ancient redwood trees, some taller than the Statue of Liberty, and is planning to preserve it and open a public park.“
www.usnews.com/news/best-states/california/articles/2018-06-26/redwood-g...
8
Pruitt is a complete amateur when comes to corruption. You want to look a corruption look at the top of this administration. Trump and his family set the standard by which all others that inhabit the government will be measured. We have a banana republic government.
14
A shell company for the wife? Pruitt is so dirty, he should be considered a Superfund site. Toxic Scott.
9
Fire this petty grifter.
Congressional Republicans, you put yourselves on the record that you support such obvious, blatant corruption in Trump's appointees if you don't pressure Trump to take this one step in draining the swamp.
Because it's been nothing but swampier since your party's leader took office, and it's not just Pruitt, it's the fact that at least 187 lobbyists got jobs in Trump's administration - gee, and after he signed a piece of paper saying otherwise.
Anyway, you Republican House and Senate members - you are supporting a deepening of the swamp. Show some spine and some integrity and get Trump to fire Pruitt.
5
What about all those jobs that illegal immigrants are taking from American workers? Now that Trump is cracking down, surely Mrs. Pruitt can find an opening to pick beans somewhere. Hard work and personal responsiblity are Republican 'values,' or so they tell us ad nauseam.
7
I won't ask Republicans how they can bear to support this kind of corruption. The more I learn about them and their political party, the more I see what kind of people they are. Self-dealing, obsessed with wealth, willing to lie and cheat to gain any advantage for themselves. Disdainful of ethics, morals, and honesty, they disparage people who believe in these values as scolds or sissies. From their lofty positions of power, they look with contempt on those of us who were taught to tell the truth and to care for others besides ourselves. They think these qualities are weaknesses. For them, might makes right.
No more Republicans in office. They are not fit to be public servants. They have no concept of what it means to be unselfish. In Republican world, money and power negate all other values. They trample decency and humanity underfoot every day.
I'm voting a straight Democratic ticket in November, and will continue to encourage everyone I meet to do the same.
17
Certainly THIS scandal will be the one to make conservatives realize that their "#DrainTheSwamp" rhetoric was nothing more than part of a Russian influence campaign! No? Okay, let's try again later this week with the next one.
5
Remember America, Trump's base are chickens in the coop who have been told that the owner has your back, you are now free range. In the end, you will be fed steroids, your eggs will be stolen and you will be sold for meat while thanking the master for allowing you to called free range chickens and never having the will to explore the limits of your so called free range.
7
Just par for the course for this corrupt Administration.
The Trump family has been benefiting since his election, why shouldn’t Pruit’s family?
4
Why are the US taxpayers being forced to pay this grifter's salary?
5
Pruitt’s use of public office for personal financial gain and self aggrandizement makes him Donald Trump’s Mini-Me. Monkey see - monkey do.
5
I believe there was only one question that Trump asked his cabinet appointees: "Do you want to be an oligarch?" If they said yes, Trump said, "You're in!"
5
We all know that spouses, children and other family members of many of our politicians of both political parties were/are in their jobs because of political connections and access to those in positions in government which paved the way for employment of those family members.
While we are at it, let's begin to look at the role nepotism has played in political life -- the Kennedys, the Bushes, the Cuomos, to name a few.
Isn't there an old quote "It's not what you know but who you know?" I am sure many have used access to those they know to find employment for family members whether in government or in the private sector.
Mr. Pruitt is only one in a long line of those who have used their positions to seek employment for family members through using political connections.
1
Yet all the families you mentioned whether I agreed with their politics or not were working for the common good. They may have made missteps along the way but the betterment of life for their constituents and of country is what drove them. They respected this country and didn’t seek to exploit it for personal gain.
Pruitt like many within this administration are driven by greed and amassing their own personal fortune. They’re driven by exploitation of others in order to promote and better themselves. They have been tasked with dismantling and destroying the very departments they should be promoting and protecting.
There is absolutely no comparisons to be made between the families you name and our current state of affairs.
11
This man should be impeached under Article II of the U.S. Constitution. He is the most corrupt cabinet secretary of my lifetime for sure. If he were a Democrat, Republicans would have had an aneurysm by now with all of he allegations against this man. And if you go back to his days in Oklahoma, he was a criminal then, too.
17
Drainage of the swamp can begin with this corrupt creature, who is not only damaging our environment, but also the ethical standards that hold our democracy together.
9
See what happens when you run "government like a business"?
This nonsense goes on every single day in the you slap my back and I'll slap yours world of business.
With all of the business people now "infesting" Washington, this type of garbage is to be expected.
12
Why is he not gone YET? What are the Democrats doing?? There are multiple witnesses to his inappropriate and potentially illegal activities! Congressional oversight please!
4
My fear is that we have all become inured to the daily barrage of corruption coming out of this administration. It’s time to light a fire under our elected reps to let them know this is not okay. Letters, phone calls e-mails, ( civil) comments made while they are marching in parades on the Fourth. Let’s let them know this is not okay. Remind them that the Fourth of July isn’t about cookouts and glad-handing. This country was founded on principles.
3
Where is the bottom to Pruitt's corruption? Trump indeed hires the best people because it shows in his cabinet. Be best!
5
What's the country coming to when a cabinet-level official can't even use his staff and political influence to find his spouse a six-figure job anymore?
What's he supposed to do, wait until he's back in the private economy to exploit his position?
7
Much like smallpox, we would all be better off if Mr. Pruitt was a thing of the past. However, unless I’m missing something, exactly what crime has been committed here? Most people practice nepotism unless strict rules prevent them from doing so. I have a pretty egregious nepotism story, and I’m sure you do to.
Channeling you outrage through the New York Times does not prevent people from doing awful but lawful things. Run for office, vote, organize. This is how do this.
2
Pruitt is the poster child for exercising oversight authority. Can the Senate withdraw its consent to a Presidential appointment?
3
Good job. Half way through reading your first paragraph - three names popped up in my mind: Valerie Jarrett, Susan Rice, Houma Abedin. Then - without a break, the list went on - and on - and on. And to be fair: it's been going on in the same way - forever. For both the Left and the Right. It's just too bad the Libs aren't able to note that. Pruitt is just today's whipping boy. (And, No, I don't care for him either.)
Pruit is just doing what Trump told him to, which is get rid of all regulations that keep companies from polluting, and any regulations that had ANYTHING to do with Barack Obama regardless of how beneficial they may have been to the country. Pruitt has done this and continues to do it and while he does he can do pretty much anything else he likes without fear that Trump will do anything to him. Or haven't you noticed.
7
Independent scientists will be issuing new measures and guidelines for extraordinarily high levels of pollution, filth, and contamination in public lands and officials. They shall be known as the Pruitt Standards.
3
Pruitt's lack of integrity, entitled ways, and corruption has led to him fleecing the taxpayers while he is not protecting our environment, our clean air and clean water as head of our country's Environmental Protection Agency.
Why has he not been fired by the president and charged with misappropriation of federal funds? His enormous security detail, first class travel/private plane travel, using aides to perform personal duties, seeking a business opportunity for his wife, getting payments for speaking engagements, renting a condo from a lobbyist, and on and on.
As the article says currently there are 13 investigations into Pruitt's behavior with new issues continually coming to light while he stays in his position as head of the EPA and he has had no consequences for his many misdeeds. There needs to be accountability and it looks like the best way to deal with this abuse of power is by voting in the midterm elections and electing candidates who demonstrate leadership, transparency, and accountability.
4
It is my understanding that Ms. Pruitt is a trained Registered Nurse. As a nurse I see the ramifications of our national nursing shortage reflected in patient care. So, if I may make a suggestion: brush up those skills, renew your license, and get into the game Ms. Pruitt! We would all welcome the help and you won’t even have to use cabinet-level arm twisting to get paid employment.
16
Mrs Pruitt is in need of work? Are there no coal mines? Or what about the open spots ICE has liberated for American workers, perhaps at a nice cement plant or chicken processing facility?
45
Conservatives know that time is running out. No wall, no matter how high will prevent the arrival of younger people and people of color. And the young, who typically lean left, will be incensed by all the things Trump has spoiled or taken away. So, for the wealthy, one job remains: rake in the cash, quickly. Given the short time frame, they will tolerate absolutely anyone who will help with their goals. I doubt they have more respect for Pruitt than ordinary Americans do.
18
you could not be more correct. they sometimes look like they are in panic mode, running through a supermarket in a game show sweep, trying to beat the clock!
3
It has been clear for some time now that only the absolute bottome of the barrel are willing to accept high positions in the Trump administration. Witness Jeff Sessions, a Senate back bencher, a real side-liner who holds extreme views, signing up as the first official to endorse Trump during the campaign. Then Pence, clearly a shill for the Koch Bros. (see Jane Mayer article, and White House now full of Koch representatives), facing loss of his office in Indiana and no viable options, agreeing to become VP. Pruitt is another fossil fuel shill who demonstrated his willingness to abuse his power while in office in Oklahoma (land of 1000 earthquakes). The smallest voices in this country have been elevated to tremendous power and are pushing extreme views on a country that, by popular vote, did not want Trump or his minions in power. This is a travesty.
37
Pruitt will keep on doing these outrageous things until somebody stops him. Which means he'll keep on doing these outrageous things.
34
Trump has no intention of sacking Pruitt. He enjoys the distraction it provides and direction away from his own crimes, which are in the nature of grand aggravated theft, compared to Pruitt's petty misdemeanors.
The fish stinks from the head.
34
In any sane administration, someone with this level of unfolding scandal would have been jettisoned long ago. I’m not sure who to believe has more dirt on Trump - Putin or Pruitt?
22
Or the UN Ambassador would have unmasked US citizens at a rate of one per year during the election year...
ND, that is totally irrelevant to the article. And BTW, Rice did nothing improper with the unmasking.
Pruitt has demonstrated repeatedly that he has no ethics. If Congress turns a blind eye to his conduct then they too have no ethics. We already know Trump will do nothing to rein in his favorite cowboy. The work that the EPA is doing in dismantling decades of environmental protection serve no one except the enriching polluters who are already rich enough (Koch Bros., et al.). Pruitt is shameless in his deference to their demands and in his deafness to the public concern. I grew up in the 70's, I remember the smog that burned my eyes and made my throat tighten. I don't wish that on my children or grandchildren. But it will be the next generations that ultimately suffer due to Pruitt and Trump, whether locally (increased toxic spills, contaminated water and air) or globally (increased storm damage, drought, fires, and climate refugees).
21
They turned a blind eye when Pruitt was confirmed.
2
Why is Scott Pruitt still on OUR payroll?
41
Because Trump is even more corrupt than Pruit
And Republicans control Congress and they are afraid of Trump.
And Pruit is doing the bidding of the corporations that control Republicans.
Pruit stays in the job.
5
Being a member of the Cabinet primarily comprised of multi-millionaires/billionaires, likely makes Mr. Pruitt feel insecure and/or entitled since his financial condition falls short of his "peers". Fortunately, he has dipped into the coffers of the United States to supply him with the symbols of power and prestige, as well as using his position to find employment for his wife to increase the family cash flow. There are ethics, printed, distributed, and in Mr. Pruitt's case, raised bu the EPA Ethics Office, but ignored by the White House. The only commonality between democracy and despotism is that they begin with the same letter. Happy Independence Day!!!
10
Trump says he is the law and order president. So he should see that the law is enforced against his cabinet members who break the law, including Pruitt, Carson, Wilbur Ross, Ryan Zincke. All of these have had credible allegations against them of lawbreaking, but have faced no serious consequences and in fact have gotten away with demoting a whistle blower in at least one case. These are much more serious crimes (corruption) than seeking asylum, which is not even a crime, yet which this administration punishes with actual confinement. How about confining these corrupt (allegedly) officials?
13
The depth of this man's corruption is astonishing. Why does he still have a job? Almost makes me forget about the administration's other grifters. But not really.
24
For those that understand biology, a swamp is a breeding ground of diversity; a complicated ecological system that is considered necessary and healthy for the environment. Under Obama it was called wetlands protection. What we have here is Trump draining the swamp and the filling of it with industrial toxins and predatory creatures that will kill whatever remains, under the management of Pruitt.
14
Why isn't this man being removed for destroying the environment he has sworn to protect? That's the real issue. But I guess beggars (we citizens of planet earth) can't be choosey. Whatever it will take.
13
Pruitt should never have been appointed or approved. He has got to go already. He isn’t doing his job and his list of violations continues to grow. He is only harming the environment with his policy rollbacks and taking advantage of the American people.
17
Like Trump he is above the law. It is rather obvious so please do not keep reporting his indiscretions as it depresses me in that it is allowed to continue. It only serves to reinforce my enmity for this country.
7
I thought that asking employees, especially the female ones, to do things for a supervisor's family members, was no longer considered legal. Nice to know that Pruitt views employees of the EPA as his personal slaves. Then again, when the POTUS can brag about how many women he's "fondled" this is not a surprise. The real surprise is that Pruitt still has his job.
17
Pruitt has no respect for a government based upon the rule of law. He like all conservatives have benefitted by living in a country with a rule of law and with a civil society that considers all people equal before the law and which while respecting individual liberties and property rights does expect people to contribute a lot to the common good but they resent nearly all the contributions demanded from them. He takes it a step further by conducting himself as above the laws where they annoy his personal pleasures.
7
Scott Pruitt is an exemplar of the types of characters Trump deems acceptable, even worthy of great power and authority. And we're about to see him make his second appointment to the Supreme Court. Our long national nightmare rolls on.
27
One thing for sure, you don't have to try very hard to find corruption under Trump.
22
How does Scott Pruitt still have a job at this point? A job, no less, of which he seems determined to disregard the obligations. The choice of Scott Pruitt to leads the EPA is emblematic of the kinds of poor decisions that Trump has made time and time again in choosing those around him.
We need to send Scott Pruitt packing.
29
Why are the Pruitts so hard up that they are constantly seeking to get something for free? Their financial dealings and problems suggest that one or both of them has some extreme problem such as gambling addiction or other behavior that causes them to constantly need to cheat, steal or finagle more money from someone.
45
Grifters gonna grift. Pruitt has had delusions of grandeur for years. Look at how he's tried to live beyond what he could afford by making deals with lobbyists for a home. When stealing a little wasn't enough, he had to try to steal more.
18
In my experience as an executive with a federal consulting firm, individuals with the sort of financial and ethical “challenges” of Pruitt - and others within the IQ45 “administration” would be unable to obtain or keep a Security Clearance or even pass a Minimum Background Investigation.
From Obama to this. And to think we could have avoided it.
1
Trump is a wrecker. Pruitt is a wrecker. It doesn't matter what they are wrecking -- the global environment, ethics, the law, this country, etc. -- so long as they leave destruction in their wake.
30
Scott Pruitt must go. The list of violations seems endless. If we are a nation of integrity and law this guy must go and then be prosecuted.
31
The longer these Pruitt stories play out, the clearer it becomes that the man is really just not very smart.
Some attribute dark, malevolent motives to his actions; some point to his petty, crafty greed; or his envy of all the people richer than he –both within the administration and among the cohort he's charged with regulating.
All of which qualities may color his various tone-deaf initiatives, or the sordidities he's been caught in.
But, at the end of the day, I truly believe Pruitt has to be defined by the fact that he's just dumb as dirt.
35
The school teacher who respectfully confronted him at lunch, and told him to resign because of her fears about his destroying our environment needs to be repeated daily. We do not need to be hostile or aggressive but we can and should tell him what we think. HE WORKS FOR US. Something that he seems not to know-- like so many in this administration.
Tell him what you think of the job they are failing to do for the American people.Tell him of our fears for future generations. Tell him that we will not stand for his self dealing and corruption. Shame him.
23
Donald...how goes the swamp draining?
9
As long as Pruitt continues to carry water for big energy companies and carries out the Trump policy of removing safeguards protecting clean air and water, he has a job.
The Trump swamp is the filthiest swamp to ever murk up DC, the most corrupt administration to ever roll down the pike.
19
Trump's administration is the most corrupt of any in my lifetime.
Trump turned the swamp into a cesspool.
21
Draining the swamp looks a lot like Swamps-R-Us.
20
So this lawyer arranges for an EPA employee to try to get a Chick fil a franchise for his wife. (Chick fil a is owned by evangelicals.) Then he directs a third party who owes him money to pay it to the woman looking for a franchise for his wife. Pruitt obviously doesn’t want to sign a $2000 check payable to this woman, but doesn’t he know that the company that owes him money will have to report that payment to her to the IRS, with an explanation that the $2,000 is income to Pruitt, but that Pruitt directed the payment be made to the franchise searcher.
Then, when asked how he was going to explain the money his would earn on his financial disclosure forms, he says he will create an LLC in order to hide the payments.
Finally, he doesn’t even tell his own lawyer about his shenanigans. Big no no. Exit lawyer.
Not only is this lawyer stupid, but he’s unethical. Call the Oklahoma Bar and the IRS.
24
Swampy! Vote in November!
14
"Ms. Dravis ... told congressional investigators that Mr. Pruitt hoped for his wife to earn a six-figure salary..."
Of course he hopes for that... and he expects someone to "give" her that job, not based upon her qualifications, but on his influence.
Why is this grifter still in his job?
40
That scheme worked for Bill de Blasio's wife and to an extent Michelle Obama.
Mr. Pruitt needs to be removed now, not later. There is already substantial evidence of his unethical behavior. While that evidence continues to accumulate, he is quietly dismantling the protections for our environment. Time for a hue and cry over this. We cannot afford to wait.
31
For those who don't understand how Pruitt can get away with abuse after abuse of ethics and staff and influence....read up on his strong connection to the religious right.
He is a favorite of the Mercers and untouchable by Trump.
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/pruitt-evangelical_us_5ae362dde4b05...
24
There is so much corruption in this administration it's hard to keep track of all the weasels. This guy, though, is totally a transparent case. He needed to be booted yesterday. What hubris.
40
And the trump wheel of corruption continues to spin out of control.
24
What is the Democrat Party doing about this? Why aren’t they raising a fuss?
At the very least one should be seeing speeches on the floor of the House or Senate about the “Trump Swamp”. I miss seeing those throwback visuals - flip charts and all.
Trump has made immigration the #1 topic for discussion for the 2018 election.
The Democrats have an embarrassment of riches: Healthcare. Immigration. The Trump Swamp Corruption.
Pick one. Ideally: Healthcare. Fight.
Brand him: Lawless Trump. Ask for Democrats to be elected to be a check on a lawless president (Unilateralism on North Korea. Tariffs. EPA. Corruption.
Refusing to submit tax returns. Refusing to be answerable to Mueller. Believes FBI and DOJ work for him)
Elect a Lawman for lawless Trump.
There’s a common theme to target Trump that the Democrats failed to have in all the scandals of 2016, leading them to go with “not that guy”. Didn’t work.
Lawless Trump is their best bet.
16
Everyone in this administration is taking advantage of their position to make their America Great Right Now. Less wealthy and fixer-less members like Pruitt who are more needy and clumsy at look awful but are petty thieves. Pruitt distracts from the master thieves, those gaining millions. People like Cohen, Mrs. Trump, the kids, most of the other Secretaries grabbed mountains of cash and benefits all can hide under Pruitt’s ever expanding cloud of filth. He serves as a wonderful protective cloak!
8
I never thought that blatant self-dealing, theft-of-services, corruption and sleezery would not just be overlooked, but tacitly condoned, at the highest levels of American government.
Guess I was wrong.
10
Scott Pruitt, Trump's "Poster Boy for Ethics"!
6
My Arya Stark dream list grows longer each day, filled with republican arsonists who are willing to destroy this country for fun or greed. The federalist society, freedom caucus and NRA all must have Russian or foreign ties as these groups operate in lock step and are always on the side of doing harm
12
It kind of makes you wonder what exactly it will take to have this craven, amoral person removed from office. Oh, and Pruitt, too.
31
Nepotism is alive and well. It's never gone away nor will it.
Dems are as guilty as GOP too in these regards.
And when it’s discovered, the person should be fired.
Still waiting....
4
Show me the Democrat who has done what Pruitt has.
12
Dear JR in Maine,
Please give me one example of the level of graft and greed committed dems that Trump and Pruitt have committed.
9
Pretty swampy. Are we great again yet?
8
Perhaps one of our NATO allies could hire Pruitt's wife and pay her a salary that would negate the 2% American industrial-led war-complex's NATO fee. This way we could solve 2 Trump-created problems simultaneously (or at least for 1 EU country).
4
Nurse Wretched.
5
Gasp! Shocking!
3
Pretty swampy.
3
Is Pruitt's wife so incompetent that she can't find a job like the rest of us?
25
Pruitt is making enemies in the agency with his brief to set Lake Eire on fire, again, and to restore acid rain, and all the other good things that the EPA has helped address who are just happy to reveal that he is an old fashioned corrupt politician. He may be the first cabinet member to retire to club fed.
8
Elsewhere in the NYT:
‘How to Clean Your Filthy, Disgusting Laptop’
I don’t know why I continuously subject myself to stories about this...this...denizen of the swamp.
But I do know why I want to take a shower after each reading. It is a (Sisyphusian) need to stay clean.
4
And yet, Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell, so-called Leaders of Congress, who are constitutionally mandated to exercise "Checks and Balances" over egregious behavior by the executive branch,
DO NOTHING.
63
When is this blatant abuse of power by Mr. Pruit going to end-
In any other time he would have been long gone.
Is everyone in denial and spineless to do anything about it ?
But then again we are living in one big Reality Televison Show with the state of affairs of our Prez at the moment.
17
Scott Pruitt should have resigned months ago for his repeated violation of ethics laws and ethical norms. The fact that he is still there says a lot about the ethics of this administration. Of course, Trump should have put his business interests in a blind trust, as should have Ivanka and Jared...
12
Do the republican leaders or republican voters care? No. The 1% and corporations got their tax cuts. EPA will now help companies pollute our country and SCOTUS will silence any appeals for justice - jerry mandering, weakening already weak labor unions, vote suppression, unchecked campaign finacing so these policies can perpetuate to name a few. BUT, abortion rights are unethical and anti- christian, so must replace Justice Kennedy (he of the perfectly timed retirement) with a nominee to eviscerate if not overturn Roe v Wade.
This is the grand game, won by republicans. But when they look back on the ash heap of this country's ideals will they ever think of what they actually won or what they did to the country in the process. I think not for I see no evidence of morality or conscience.
15
This is the most unapologetically corrupt administration ever, and 40 percent of the country could care less. Cult of personality indeed.
45
The only environment that Edward Scott Pruitt is trying to protect is the one that is most conducive to his lamprey leech corrupt cynical and hypocritical personal profit nature and nurture.
15
The only reason Pruitt remains the head of the EPA is his pledge to his republiCON masters, the Koch brothers and the Mercer family to destroy it. Their greed knows no bounds as he is upfront about destroying the vital department to defend us against corporate greed and their pollution. This is just another step in our ever growing swing to corporatization of
America. And trump’s SCOTUS pick will further solidify this point as the republiCONs move ever closer to their new found fascism for America. And our decline as a world leader will continue into the next decade as more and more countries pull away from America because we are no longer that beacon of world freedom.
13
Zero class. Has his hand out 24/7. Shameless.
11
Mr. Pruitt is a swamp creature right out of the horror films. Have you no shame? Have you no decency? Be gone and never darken our towels again you monster.
15
Samantha Dravis resigned her EPA position this past April. This is July. This year both April and July contain a Friday the 13th. Corruption, scandal, and scamming taxpayers don't seem to be enough to force a clearly crooked Scott Pruitt out of the EPA. Maybe a couple of culturally superstitious dates will take care of it. Wouldn't that be fitting?
11
I wonder if Ms. Pruitt was among the four people Trump interviewed yesterday for the Supreme Court. With the help of Scott Pruitt's staff, she seems to have gone for everything else. It pays a six-figure salary.
19
Pruit should ask Trump to help his wife. There must be a jail somewhere, near Washington DC, looking for a head nurse.
15
More of Trump's crime syndicate.
He surrounds himself with the most vial.
We The People did not elect him ! He is illegitimate.
He does not represent America or our values.
14
Our leadership is a pit of snakes. We are now a third rate oligarchy. I hope everyone who voted for the "Drain the Swamp" candidate are happy. You just helped over populate it.
I am not saying some of this would not have happened under the other choice, but this, is beyond the pale...
VOTE It matters. Do not bury your head in the sand, do not tell yourself "it doesn't matter anyway..". It does. Wake the hell up and VOTE.
30
Pruitt is the lowest of the low in this Cabinet. Only Mick Mulvaney rivals him at the bottom.
27
Don’t forget Betsy DeVos. And Ben Carson. And Wilbur Ross.
All of them, I guess.
50
You are right Kim. All of them.
Imagine for one moment if Scott Pruitt were in a cabinet led by a Democrat. Yep, it’s impossible to imagine, both for the degree of immorality as well as the fact that he’s still keeping his chair warm.
At least we won’t ever have to listen to Republicans whine and moan about religion, ethics and morals anymore. All a smokescreen anyways.
24
Pure sleaze.
19
Pruitt is the Poster Boy for corruption in Trump's cabinet.
Yet not even a peep from our "Check's and Balances" Congressional Oversight members. Their are guilty of Dereliction of Duty to allow this criminal to clearly abuse his position of power over and over and over for his own personal benefit and profit.
8
A pig at the trough. He's not a public servant; he's an industry servant. And all of this corruption and self-dealing should pale in comparison to the outrage about the damage he's already done to this country's land, air and waters.
11
Pruitt is DT's greatest red herring yet. Find someone worse than you. A true lame duck, left to fly uselessly in the wing, taking hit after hit, as the press ignores Pence, Pompeo, the Indiana 3, and the entire Koch network of corporate hacks who insure you don't pay attention to their still legal dumping of non-disclosed chemical constituents. Stop taking the bait and follow the money-- the companies who continue to thrive and benefit under an EPA of chaos and deregulation. You're watching Pruitt and they're laughing all the way to the bank! Look where the government contracts and state subsidies are now going, who had their OSHA safety cases sidelined, beneficially. Which mergers, Chinese affiliated, in fact, are receiving expedited review and approval? It's happening in red and blue states, with Governors like Cuomo complicit in that while he sues the EPA, he welcomes companies to dump toxic frack related wastewater in NY state, corrupting an already weak water infrastructure. Companies can voluntarily do what the EPA under Pruitt won't and can't because he's meant to deflect and distract. You just have to stop being so distracted and explore why corporate america's industrial sector can't be shamed into compliance even without a corrupted EPA's helping hand.
14
Why is Pruitt still there? It would seem that he has powerful friends who like what he is doing for them. The Trump Administration is making Teapot Dome look like a class act.
14
Face it trump will not remove pruitt as he is going about destroying our environment to appease koch, ross,adelson,mercer,the GOP.I wonder how these deplorable people think their $$$ will protect them when there is no water to drink,no air to breathe, no food to eat or a nuclear war to destroy the earth we all inhabit.There is no such thing as normal weather just extremes..did it ever occur to these criminals that their money will not protect them from nature's wrath???
11
Also, Trump is keeping Pruitt in his back pocket to replace Sessions when that time comes.
4
The Trump Cabinet poster child. How is he still here?
6
Possibly a reason for DJT and the Party to hang on to Pruitt is that they all, to certain degrees, share and applaud such unethical behavior under the guise that their destructive policies are fulfilled. If Pruitt goes, many of them might soon follow.
19
I love the fact that his boss an even bigger sleaze than Pruitt hasn't asked for his resignation.
This administration will go down in history as one of the worst.
6
It's high time for this guy to pack his bags and leave before even Trump wises up and asks him to leave. People have been told to leave for less and the hits keep coming. There is more I am sure.
2
So wrong he thinks he's right.
2
People wonder why Pruitt still has a job? Because he works for the Koch family and the fossil fuel industry, not for us. His office just happens to be at the EPA. Like so many legislators who are on the payroll of the NRA (McCain, Burr, Gardner, Rubio), they just happen to sit in Senate office buildings.
Even if he leaves his current post, he will continue to work for the same paymasters. They were his employers when he was an Oklahoma official, and that’s not going to change.
We need a new definition of the kind of treason Pruitt and his ilk routinely commit. Those who willingly create a hostile environment for the sustenance of life on the planet should be tried and convicted for crimes against the Earth and all its creatures. These people are true manifestations of evil, if you believe evil exists. The decimation of life, including human beings—through drought, pollution, climate disruption and other human-caused environmental degradation—will make Hitler and other genocidal maniacs look tame by comparison. Our wars serve the fossil fuel industry, sending millions from home. The war in Syria is partly the result of devastating drought. Those two events have put 60 million refugees on the move. The same is true at our southern border. Many of the refugees are fleeing the havic of climate change in their countries.
Time to get serious about dramatic changes in the climate if we want our children to live their lives on a habitable planet. Time is running out, people.
18
If anyone in the private sector had done only one of the many egregious acts of theft, deception, ethical violations, etc., etc., and etc. committed by Scott Pruitt, he would have been out on his behind so fast he wouldn't have known what hit him.
In the Trump administration, a person such as this is known as Employee of the Month.
Seriously, the man is a criminal many times over. Unfortunately we pretty much have our lives in his hands (see also: climate change, clean water, etc., etc., and etc.).
12
Thank God for Puritt. He's a constant reminder of how corrupt the Trump administration is. A real poster boy...
7
Is there no limit?
5
Obviously Pruitt’s wife is unemployable but he wants her out of the house. Who’s ever house. The man is such a brazen scoundrel that the embarrassment, richly deserved, to his wife, doesn’t seem to occur to him.
12
In a normal political climate, people would be outraged and the pressure would be on him to resign. But we have so many other things go to be outraged about, this seems to be almost slipping under the radar, despite the NYT’s dogged coverage.
15
The sense of entitlement of this administration never ceases to astound. It would be comical except that it will have a lasting negative effect on all of us.
9
Enough is enough. You stunk up the place and know it. You need to go. Please resign because your superior doesn't seem to care.
8
Of course this would have resulted in a resignation under Obama, and congress would have demanded it. With President Tweet no scandalous behavior is ever too much. Making America Great Again? Sick joke.
14
A fish rots from the head down.
9
Why are we surprised?
Just another window into trumps House Of Frauds...
This is what goes on there.
11
Serious question - has anybody just called the police on him? I mean, if my neighbor is doing something illegal, I can call the police and report what I know and they'll probably come and arrest them. Why hasn't he been arrested?
What is even going on in this case? He's under no less than a dozen "investigations;" have any of these concluded? Is there ANY official findings from any of these supposed investigations?
87
Federal crimes! Call Jeff Sessions and ask him why.
1
It's fairly obvious that Trump is using Pruitt as a sharp stick to poke liberals in the eye. He probably doesn't like Pruitt's shenanigans, but he sure likes the outrage he whips up. In fact, it creates cover for Trump.
50
I'm sure Trump loves Pruitt's corrupt and immoral behavior, it's exactly the kind of thing Trump engages is.
8
Sadly but not surprisingly this is another sleazy case of Trump and his followers flaunting their disrespect of the values and code of conduct that public servants at all levels of American government, local and national, are honor-bound to uphold.
3
Trump cares as much about what Pruitt is doing as he does about abortion rights. He’s not busy reading the Bible in his spare time.
I do hope the White House staff has hidden the good silver, this crew is probably taking it home a piece a day.
6
Unethical behaviors and abuse of power
But loyalty to Trump can help to keep the job
26
I’m shocked, shocked I tell you to see there is corruption going on in this administration.
Thank God we have a paragon of virtue at the head of government, not somebody who would wear a tan suit after Labor Day.
67
Pruitt is the symbol of the trump administration and republicans who support it -- self-serving, corrupt and greedy to the core.
125
So typical of this administration. Not only has Pruitt been a disaster for our environment to the benefit of extractive industries and fossil fuels, but he is unethical to boot. Though it is curious how hard he is trying to find work for his wife. Frankly, it would have made just a little more sense for him to push the former school nurse as Surgeon General instead of a Chick-fil-A franchisee.
58
It occurred to me that he may want her to have a 6 figure income so he won't have to pay as much when he divorces her.
1
How does he still keep his job? Shameful track record of self-dealing.
18
Shameful self dealing is how you GET a job in DC.
4
Trumps Mini-ME, the Oklahoma version. He's so bad, he almost makes Trump look reasonable. That's why he's still around, along with destroying the EPA. You sure can pick'em, GOP. Seriously.
46
She wants a six figure salary based on what personal employment experience? No sign of any ethics more worthy than hogs at the trough at display from this administration.
98
A Registered Nurse (RN) earns $60K-$80K or more in some areas. Six figures is not a huge leap for an RN like his wife.
4
Fine, except she wasn't looking to work as an RN. He wanted to find her a job for which she may or may not have been qualified. How did her RN experience qualify her to work as an event planner for which she was paid thousands for a single event?
7
Except that she isn't even an RN anymore, she let her certifications lapse while she stayed home with the children. I don't question that choice at all, but it means that she can't work as an RN now unless she re-certifies.
7
Tom Price got canned for less.
48
Tom Price was not nearly as effective destroying American's health.
9
Pruitt is a public servant for Americans, not to serve himself on taxpayer dollars. The swamp is a cesspool under Pruitt.
20
In probably the most corrupt Cabinet in history, Pruitt stands out as the worst of the worst. I don't know how he can look in the mirror being the worm that he is. Sirens on to go to fancy french restaurants, million dollar security arrangements, first class travel, jobs for his wife and friends, just disgusting. Obama would never have tolerated this from a Cabinet member.
88
Rest assured, Republicans would never had tolerated this from Scott Pruitt if he was in President Obama's Cabinet.
2
Scott Pruitt has brought nothing but disgrace and scandal to the EPA. His lack of ethics and the abuse of his power mirror that of the president. Pruitt seems to have learned the art of the con at the president's knee. He's doing everything to cash in at the taxpayers' expense. Like the president, he hasn't been caught yet or paid any price for his malfeasance.
Pruitt got a pass at his Congressional hearings recently although Democrats excoriated him as being unfit to hold public office. The same also applies to the president as well.
129
He has been caught over and over. He just hasn't paid a price because of a corrupt President and a feckless Congress.
8
Unfortunately, there is no bar low enough for Republicans to excoriate any member of their own party, unless of course that member has a conscience, a pulse, and/or a scruple.
1
Enough already!
35
...but isn't that what the Trump administration does????
49
This guy is a venal low life, but he knows how to play Trump. He's bad for our country.
114
If Pruitt like character had been in the Obama administration or if Hillary had won, in hers, Trey Gowdy would be running 24 hour hearings.
176
Why does Pruitt still have a job? I forgot he is helping those people who do not care if we have clean air and water. Just another example of why the entire trump administration has to go!
167
Trump admires people who try to take advantage of their positions, he sees it as a plus. And the Republican Congress is completely impotent.
If the Dems win the House in the Fall, they can launch an investigation. Otherwise, Pruitt is basically untouchable.
67
What was that about draining a swamp, again?
96
Aw, com’on, dg, you know that draining the swamp was so they could find all the best swamp creatures...or was that the worst swamp creatures? Oh well, either way it works for the head swamp monster.
1
Pruitt was party to similar chicanery in Oklahoma. Only there he could count on the state-wide Republican power network to look the other way when he was setting up shell companies to obscure real estate holdings worth way more than what he could afford.
111
It's refreshing to see someone in the Trump administration looking to pay off his own wife. At last, family values.
90
Thanks for the smile of the day.
1
Happens all the time! It's not necessarily what you know, but who you know! You'd be surprised about how many people get their jobs that way!!!
18
No surprise to many of us. But don't want to give the slightest impression of condoning it to the kiddies, by normalizing it.
2