Friday, May 4, 2018

What other way is Scott Pruitt ripping off the public?

Add this one to your already very lengthy list:
After taking office last year, Pruitt drew up a list of at least a dozen countries he hoped to visit and urged aides to help him find official reasons to travel, according to four people familiar with the matter, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal agency deliberations. Pruitt then enlisted well-connected friends and political allies to help make the trips happen.

[...]

Along with Israel and Australia, Pruitt’s wish list for global travel included Saudi Arabia, Colombia, Panama, Poland, Japan, India and Canada, former staff members said, adding that Pruitt asked staffers to schedule the trips at a pace of roughly one per month. Political and career officials at the EPA suggested a handful of other destinations, these people said, including China and Germany.

So far, Pruitt has traveled only to Italy and Morocco. He has canceled trips to Australia, Japan and Israel after extensive advance work by EPA officials.

[...]

Federal ethics rules prohibit public officials from endorsing “any product, service or enterprise,” said Don Fox, a former acting director of the Office of Government Ethics.

“This is the problem with Pruitt,” said Virginia Canter, executive branch ethics counsel for the nonprofit Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. “He’s basically acting as a lobbyist for all of his friends.”

[...]

Pruitt’s practice of involving outsiders in his travels raises serious ethical concerns, legal experts said; federal law prohibits public officials from using their office to enrich themselves or any private individual, or to offer endorsements.

  WaPo
Ethical concerns? These people don't go near those.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

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