HARI SREENIVASAN:

On this Earth Day the Environmental Protection Agency is also in the news not for the successes and failures of its core mission but for the actions of its leader Scott Pruitt. Scott Pruitt had an apartment in D.C. for an incredibly low fifty dollars a day. That apartment was owned by a lobbyist's wife. Now there are records showing that the lobbyist J. Stephen Hart met with Pruitt last year. Both the EPA and Hart's firm previously denied any meetings during that time Pruitt rented the condo in 2017 or any time after. The firm now says the meeting was personal. Besides That possible conflict of interest Pruitt's critics point to excessive spending on travel furniture security and pay raises for AIDS. Some now rescinded the EPA chief who was previously elected Oklahoma attorney general came to Washington promising to roll back regulations cut the agency's staff and repeal Obama administration environmental policies. The New York Times reports this weekend that some of the behaviors Pruitt is in the spotlight for now were also happening during his time in public office in Oklahoma. Joining me now is New York Times investigative reporter Steve Eder and you also reported with Hiroko Tabuchi on this story. First of all tell us what you found?