A list of EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt's ethical challenges, accusations

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WASHINGTON — Scott Pruitt's future as EPA Administrator is on shaky ground over a series of ethical lapses, misconduct allegations and lavish spending that have prompted several Republicans to join Democratic lawmakers and environmental groups in demanding his ouster.

Still, President Trump backs his embattled Cabinet member so far, praising him for being "very courageous" and doing a "fantastic job" spearheading the administration's deregulation agenda even amid rumblings that key White House staff want him gone. In April, the Wall Street Journal reported that Chief of Staff John F. Kelly urged Trump to fire him.

Trump in recent weeks has remained supportive of Pruitt though the president does appear to be irritated by the constant drumbeat of stories outlining questionable personal conduct of his embattled cabinet member.

"I'm not happy about certain things," Trump told reporters June 15. "But he's done a fantastic job running the EPA, which is very overriding."

But the president's endorsement hasn't stopped some Republicans in Congress from joining the Pruitt-must-go chorus. About 170 Democrats on Capitol Hill have called for his ouster and several prominent Republicans say it might be time for a change. He's currently facing more than a dozen federal investigations examining his conduct and ethics.

Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, who is unhappy with Pruitt's moves to reduce ethanol consumption that is economically important to Midwestern states, recently called the EPA administrator "as swampy as you can get."

Here's a rundown of some of the ethical and spending issues for which Pruitt is being criticized:

Asking Trump to fire Sessions

Pruitt apparently asked that the president fire Attorney General Jeff Sessions and instead appoint him to run the Justice Department, according to a report by CNN.

He made the request during an Oval Office meeting with Trump in spring, CNN reported, citing three anonymous sources. Advisors shot down the idea but Trump has floated the option as recently as April.

Their meeting and the bold request came amid multiple federal probes examining Pruitt and continued criticism of his ethics and policy — but it also came amid Trump's mounting frustration with Sessions and the Special Counsel investigation into Russian meddeling in the 2016 election.

Secret calendar

A former staffer opened up about Pruitt's office and its method of scrubbing unflattering meetings from his official calendar.

Kevin Chmielewski, Pruitt's former deputy chief of staff for operations, told CNN that Pruitt kept secret calendars and schedules that included meetings with executives and one in 2017 with Cardinal George Pell, who later was charged with sexual assault.

"We would have meetings what we were going to take off on the official schedule. We had at one point three different schedules. One of them was one that no one else saw except three or four of us," Chmielewski told CNN.

He continued: "It was a secret ... and they would decide what to nix from the public calendar."

The manner of deleting records and hiding official documents could be a violation of federal laws.

Aides running errands

A top assistant to EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt conducted personal errands for her boss last year, including booking personal flights, hunting for homes and inquiring about the availability of a used mattress from Trump International Hotel.

The errands performed by aide Millan Hupp were revealed as part of testimony she provided in May to the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.

Among the tasks Hupp testified doing for Pruitt, whom she considers a friend, were:

Helping Pruitt and his wife find housing in Washington last summer, at least part of which was done during work time.

Contacting a manager at Trump International Hotel in Washington about obtaining an "old mattress" for Pruitt.

Booking travel for Pruitt using his personal credit card, including a trip to watch the Rose Bowl in California earlier this year.

Hupp left the agency in early June, days after her Democrats released her testimony to the public.

Chick-fil-A franchise

Pruitt allegedly directed another aide to contact Chick-fil-A to see whether his wife, Marilyn, could become a franchisee for the fast food restaurant.

According to The Washington Post, the EPA administrator had aide Sydney Hupp contact Chick-fil-A to set up a phone call with the company's CEO to discuss a "potential business opportunity." The company told the newspaper that Marlyn Pruitt started a franchisee application but didn't finish it.

Sydney Hupp, sister to Millan Hupp, left the agency last year.

Asked about the allegation, Pruitt told a television reporter that his wife "loves" the restaurant and also seemed to indicate that political enemies were behind the story.

Several House Democrats have asked the FBI and the Justice Department to investigate the issue and to probe whether Pruitt broke federal anti-corruption laws.

Lobbyist's apartment rental

Pruitt paid $50 a night to rent a room on Capitol Hill in an apartment owned by the wife of a top Washington lobbyist, whose firm represents prominent energy clients. Pruitt used the room beginning in February 2017, around the time the Senate confirmed him as EPA administrator, and paid rent only for the nights he stayed there, until he moved out in July of that year.

The total he paid over the six months was roughly $6,100, well below market rates for a one-bedroom Capitol Hill apartment during that same period, according to those familiar with the arrangement. In addition, his adult daughter stayed in a separate bedroom while she interned during the summer for the White House, according to reports.

EPA's senior ethics official, Kevin Minoli, recently reviewed the lease — months after Pruitt had vacated the apartment — and initially deemed the arrangement did not violate agency rules on accepting gifts. Several days later, Minoli said he didn't have all the facts surrounding the deal.

It was discovered later that J. Steven Hart, the lobbyist whose wife rented the condo, sought EPA positions on the agency's prominent science advisory board for a lobbying client shortly after Pruitt left the apartment, according to the Associated Press.

On Aug. 10, Hart emailed Ryan Jackson, Pruitt’s chief of staff, to recommend three candidates for the agency's important Science Advisory Board on behalf of Dennis Treacy, the president of the Smithfield Foundation. The Foundation is a client of Williams & Jensen, the lobbying firm where Hart worked until he retired in April.

The suggestions were among hundreds the EPA received for the board, and the three people suggested by Hart were not appointed to the advisory board, Jackson said in the statement to the AP.

Both the agency's inspector general and the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee are looking into the arrangement.

Trip to Morocco

In December, Pruitt traveled to Morocco on a trip that was partially arranged by a lobbyist and cost $100,000 — more than double what the EPA initially reported.

Richard Smotkin, a former Comcast lobbyist who is a longtime Pruitt friend, helped plan the trip, accompanied him on the trip and served as a liaison, according to details reported by The Washington Post.

The newspaper notes Smotkin's role in the trip is unusual and could pose more problems for Pruitt since federal laws prohibit public officials from using government resources to financially benefit friends or relatives.

Months after the visit, Smotkin registered as a foreign agent representing the Moroccan government after taking a contract with the country. The contract, which he won last month, pays him $40,000 a month to promote the Moroccan cultural and economic interests, the Post reports.

In a statement issued by the EPA, Pruitt did not comment on the specifics of the report, saying only that the meeting "allowed us to directly convey our priorities and best practices with Moroccan leaders, as well as identify opportunities for continued cooperation."

Raises for top aides

Over White House objections, Pruitt pushed for hefty raises for two long-time aides, Sarah Greenwalt and Millan Hupp, who had come with him from Oklahoma where he was attorney general, according to The Atlantic.

Pruitt didn't get approval through normal channels; the agency circumvented the White House by providing the raises through an obscure provision of the Safe Drinking Water Act allows the EPA administrator hiring flexibility, according to the magazine.

The administrator later told lawmakers he was in the dark about the raises — a claim contradicted by a later story that ran in The Atlantic April 9.

"I was not aware at any time of the amount or the process that was used," he told members of the Appropriations Committee during an April 26 hearing. He said he has rescinded the raises.

That's not true, according to Kevin Chmielewski, who served as deputy chief of staff for operations under Pruitt until he was demoted earlier this year. He told Democrats on Capitol Hill the raises were "100% Pruitt himself."

Expensive travel

Pruitt spent $105,000 on luxury air travel during his first year in office.

Agency officials said the EPA administrator needed to fly business or first class on a number of flights due to security concerns posed by fellow travelers, according to a March 20 letter the agency sent to South Carolina GOP Rep. Trey Gowdy, chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee which is investigating the trips.

Travelling near the front of the plane "allows the Administrator's security agents to expeditiously exit with him upon the occurrence of a threat," Associate EPA Administrator Troy M. Lyons wrote in the letter. He also noted that Pruitt has been threatened far more frequently than Gina McCarthy, who served as EPA administrator under President Obama.

On May 1, Pasquale "Nino" Perrotta, Pruitt’s security chief, left the agency. A former Secret Service agent, Perrotta, has been at the center of Pruitt’s controversial security arrangements, which include round-the-clock security.

Pruitt has since opted to fly coach more often because "from an optics and perception standpoint (his first-class travel) was creating a distraction," he told members of the House Energy and Commerce at an April 26 hearing

In May, Reuters reported that the EPA spent about $45,000 to fly five agency employees business class to Australia last August to prepare for a planned trip that was later canceled.

Secure phone booth

The Government Accountability Office — Congress' watchdog agency — concluded in April that the EPA broke congressional spending laws when it failed to tell lawmakers it was allocating more than $43,000 to install a soundproof phone booth in Pruitt's office last year.

Pruitt told lawmakers during a congressional hearing in April that he installed the secure line for confidential calls with President Trump and other high-ranking officials on sensitive topics. He said he was not aware of the price tag and his agency has since complied with the law by informing congressional committees of the expense.

"If I'd known about it, I would have refused it," he said.

Employee Retaliation

Chmielewski told Democratic staff members on Capitol Hill that the administrator and his top lieutenants often retaliated against or demoted agency employees who challenged certain expenses they viewed as exorbitant.

One of those issues was the rental of a $100,000-per-month private jet which the agency never pursued beyond an initial review, according to documents the lawmakers released in April. Another issue was Pruitt's desire to have his motorcade use sirens and lights when stuck in traffic during non-emergency situations, according to a report by CBS News.

Chmielewski said he was placed on unpaid administrative leave after he refused to retroactively approve first-class airfare for a senior Pruitt aide on a return flight from Morocco in December, according to the letter.

Pruitt has repeatedly denied ever punishing punished aides who may have challenged his decisions regarding travel or other conduct.

Ignoring the White House

Perhaps Pruitt's gravest sin — or at least the one that could ultimately cost his job — is that he has run afoul of key White House staff, including Kelly, for not obeying orders.

White House officials believe Pruitt continued to push the raises for the two aides even after being rebuffed and despite his denials that he didn't know about the end run.

Even Pruitt's decision to go on Fox News in April to defend himself on the raises, first-class flights, and the apartment rental was opposed by senior administration officials, according to a report in The Washington Post.

During the interview, where he showed no contrition, Pruitt blamed the "toxicity" of Washington for contributing to the firestorm and said the criticism is "about the mission we're engaged in here."

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