Pruitt facing aides' claims of retaliation

EPA chief Scott Pruitt, seen here in October, 2017.
EPA chief Scott Pruitt, seen here in October, 2017.

The U.S. Office of Special Counsel is investigating whether Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt retaliated against staff members who questioned his spending and management decisions, according to three individuals familiar with the probe.

During Pruitt's tenure, the EPA has reassigned or taken administrative action against several career officials and one political appointee who had objected to the way he was spending taxpayer funds or using the perks of his office, the individuals said.

Attorneys from the Office of Special Counsel, which responds to whistleblower complaints from federal employees and can choose to prosecute cases, are in the process of speaking to a half-dozen current and former employees as part of the case, according to Kevin Chmielewski, Pruitt's former deputy chief of staff operations. The office is taking the matter "extremely seriously," Chmielewski said in an interview Monday.

Politico first reported that the probe was underway. Pruitt is facing more than a dozen federal inquiries into his spending and management decisions, including review of his first-class travel, installation of a $43,000 soundproof phone booth in his office and his $50-per-night condo rental from a Washington lobbyist.

Chmielewski, a Trump appointee who has said publicly that he was fired in February after questioning Pruitt's decision to routinely fly first-class and spend money on a range of security-related matters, said he spent at least six hours speaking to officials from the special counsel's office on Thursday. The office has assigned three attorneys to review claims that he and other EPA officials have made, Chmielewski added.

In April, Pruitt denied any retaliation during a pair of hearings on Capitol Hill, during which Rep. Betty McCollum, D-Minn., alleged that "staff has been under attack during your tenure" and that "there's documented retaliation, as far as I'm concerned."

Pruitt has attributed many of the most contentious spending decisions at the agency to his aides and said the decision to travel first-class and receive round-the-clock protection stemmed from threats he has received as administrator. He responded to McCollum, "I would say to you unequivocally I know of no instance -- I'm not aware of any instance that any employment action has been taken against someone for any advice or counsel they'd given with respect to spending."

Neither the Office of Special Counsel nor the EPA would comment on the matter Monday. Special counsel spokesman Zachary Kurz said in an email that the office "cannot comment on or confirm any open investigations."

A Section on 06/26/2018

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