Former EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt started a legal defense fund to raise money in the months before his departure. | Mark Wilson/Getty Images Energy & Environment Pruitt legal fund got $50,000 donation from Wisconsin billionaire

Former EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt, who left the agency in July under a cloud of scandals, received $50,000 from a wealthy conservative businesswoman for his legal defense fund, according to his final financial disclosure report released Thursday.

The donor, self-made billionaire Diane Hendricks of Beloit, Wis., was also a major donor to President Donald Trump's campaign, which named her one of its economic advisers, and she contributed heavily to Republican Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker's campaigns.


EPA ethics official Justina Fugh wrote in the filing that Pruitt did not seek advice from the agency before accepting Hendricks’ contribution, which was “believed to be in cash.”

Pruitt faced a number of allegations before he resigned in July, and he started a legal defense fund to raise money in the months before his departure. The filing showed that he owed between $115,000 and $300,000 in legal bills, although that was the same amount from 2017 and it is unclear how much carried over to the most recent filing.

The filing also showed Pruitt sold off between $49,000 and $210,000 in holdings in the first few months of 2018. Pruitt had expressed financial concerns about maintaining a home in Oklahoma while also renting a residence in the Eastern Market neighborhood of Washington, D.C.

Pruitt’s wife, Marlyn, reported income of $54,166 through consulting via an LLC she runs. The former EPA boss had faced criticism for what was perceived to be using his office to obtain a Chick-fil-A franchise for his wife.

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