EPA ethics counsel: Scott Pruitt's $50-a-night room deal wasn't 'prohibited gift at all'

Jessica Estepa | USA TODAY

EPA's senior ethics counsel said Friday she didn't think Administrator Scott Pruitt's reported room rent deal with the wife of an energy lobbyist was prohibited.

"I don't conclude that this is a prohibited gift at all," counsel Justina Fugh said in a statement provided to USA TODAY. "It was a routine business transaction and permissible even if from a personal friend.

Pruitt paid $50 a night to rent a room on Capitol Hill, a number confirmed in a memo released by EPA. But here's the crux of that deal: The apartment is owned by health care lobbyist Vicki Hart, who is married to energy lobbyist J. Steven Hart, according to Bloomberg News and ABC News.

On Friday evening, EPA released a memo from its ethics official to its general counsel. Per the memo, the ethics office office had reviewed the agreement between Pruitt and Vicki Hart and concluded that it didn't violate federal ethics rules because Pruitt had paid market value for the room.

"Under the terms of the lease, if the space was utilized for one 30-day month, then the rental cost would be $1,500, which is a reasonable market value," the memo read. "The lease did not require payment when the property was not utilized."

According to EPA spokesman Jahan Wilcox, Pruitt, who became administrator in February 2017, signed a lease to rent a bedroom in a condo while transitioning to Washington. He then moved out at the end of July 2017.

"As EPA career ethics officials stated in a memo, Administrator Pruitt’s housing arrangement for both himself and family was not a gift and the lease was consistent with federal ethics regulations," Wilcox said.

EPA officials reportedly looked for documentation that Pruitt paid rent after ABC News reported Thursday about the living arrangement.

The connection to J. Steven Hart — who serves as chairman of a lobbying firm that represents major energy industry interests — could raise questions about the deal.

Additionally, ABC reported Friday that Pruitt's daughter, McKenna, stayed in the second bedroom of the condo while interning at the White House last summer. They also had use of the rest of the condo unit, per the report.

Vicki Hart told ABC that she hadn't given Pruitt permission for his daughter to stay at the condo.

"The rental agreement was with Scott Pruitt," Hart said. "If other people were using the bedroom or the living quarters, I was never told, and I never gave him permission to do that."

According to the EPA memo, the lease did allow his immediate family to stay at the apartment.

Rep. Don Beyer, a Virginia Democrat who often calls on more oversight of the Trump administration, called for Pruitt's resignation.

"Scott Pruitt has conducted himself terribly, without regard for environmental protection," Beyer said in a statement. "Pruitt's secret rent deal with a lobbyist for companies regulated by the EPA is much like his many other scandals. Pruitt must resign. If he refuses to do so he should be fired immediately."

Scott Pruitt has conducted himself terribly, without regard for environmental protection. Pruitt's secret rent deal with a lobbyist for companies regulated by the EPA is much like his many other scandals.



Pruitt must resign. If he refuses to do so he should be fired immediately. pic.twitter.com/1ttjPbRgFm — Rep. Don Beyer (@RepDonBeyer) March 30, 2018

Watchdog group Public Citizen has asked EPA's inspector general to launch an investigation into Pruitt's rental arrangement.

"If the rental arrangement was anything other (than market value), it would at least constitute a violation of the federal statutes and executive branch rules prohibiting gifts to covered officials from prohibited sources," the group wrote in a letter.

If Pruitt were paying on a monthly basis, his rent for his room in the two-bedroom apartment would be between $1,400 and $1,550, depending on the month. That's on par with the average rent for a two-bedroom apartment on the Hill, which goes for around $2,950, according to Rent Cafe.

Per the reports, Pruitt only pays for the nights he actually spends in the room. It's sort of akin to booking a room through private rental site Airbnb.

Bloomberg reviewed six canceled checks written by Pruitt that showed he had paid $6,100 total from March 18, 2017, to Sept. 1, 2017, on sporadic dates. Here's the breakdown:

$450 on March 18

$900 on April 26

$850 on May 15

$700 on June 4

$1,500 on July 22

$1,700 on Sept. 1

The reports come as Pruitt faces scrutiny over other issues, ranging from racking up more than $105,000 on first class flights in his first year at EPA to installing a $25,000 sound-proof booth in his office.

Still, President Trump seems satisfied with how EPA has operated under Pruitt. During his infrastructure speech this week in Ohio, he noted that EPA had "really streamlined the system" and "made it possible for people to get things done."