Two new letters paint a disturbing picture of Pruitt's EPA.
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| Sen. Whitehouse details Pruitt's ties to industries he is supposed to regulate |
Chmielewski,
a lifelong Republican and former Trump aide, was placed on administrative leave
in February by Pruitt. Chmielewski told Democratic senators and representatives
he believes he was “marginalized, removed from his senior position and
placed on administrative leave” for speaking up about Pruitt’s “inappropriate
and unethical spending.”
The
two letters provide fresh insight into the way Pruitt treated those around him,
including top political appointees, who questioned his extravagant use of
taxpayer dollars.
The
letters to Trump and Pruitt were
signed by Sens. Tom Carper (D-DE) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), and Reps.
Elijah Commings (D-MD), Gerald Connolly (D-VA), and Don Beyer (D-VA). In
one, they state that their conversation with Chmielewski “painted an extremely
troubling picture of wasteful spending, unethical behavior, and improper
retaliation against EPA staff.”
Among the many new revelations contained in the two letters, Chmielewski alleges he was fired shortly after he refused to retroactively approve a first-class return flight for former EPA senior counsel and associate administrator in the Office of Policy Samantha Dravis, who flew to Morocco in December with Pruitt.
Chmielewski
told the senators that Pruitt approved Dravis’ first-class travel “even though
there was no legal justification for her to do so.”
As
Chmielewski claims, after he returned from a trip to Asia in
February, Pruitt’s head of security, Nino Perrotta, tried to have
Chmielewski’s EPA credentials confiscated.
During one call, Chmielewski described Perrotta saying he would go to Chmielewski’s home and forcibly retrieve his EPA parking pass, saying that he “didn’t give a f–k who is on this call.”
During one call, Chmielewski described Perrotta saying he would go to Chmielewski’s home and forcibly retrieve his EPA parking pass, saying that he “didn’t give a f–k who is on this call.”
Chmielewski
“found the statements to be threatening and reported them to the local police,
the White House Office of Presidential Personnel and numerous EPA officials,”
the letter reads. It states that since this incident, Chmielewski has been on
administrative leave but it was through reading media reports that he learned
that his position had been terminated.
The
letters also detail how Pruitt’s travel destinations were “often dictated” by
his “desire to visit particular cities or countries rather than official
business.” He would then direct staff to “find me something to do [in those
locations]” in order to justify the use of taxpayer funds.
Pruitt
would do the same in order to frequently spend long weekends back home in
Oklahoma, the letters allege.
Staff
were also frequently directed to book flights on Delta in order to accrue more
frequent flyer miles for the EPA administrator, even if Delta was not the
federal government’s contract carrier for that route.
According
to the letters, Pruitt would also frequently exceed his allowable U.S.
government per diem rate, “sometimes even exceeding the 300 percent cap
permitted in exceptional circumstances.”
While Pruitt would have his expenses redeemed, the letter claims that there have been times when members of his security detail accompanying him did not have their expenses redeemed.
While Pruitt would have his expenses redeemed, the letter claims that there have been times when members of his security detail accompanying him did not have their expenses redeemed.
In
two specific instances, on trips to Italy and Australia, Pruitt allegedly
refused to stay at hotels recommended by the U.S. embassy.
Instead, he chose to stay at more expensive hotels “with fewer standard security resources.” Pruitt would then bring his own security team with him at the taxpayer’s expense, the letter states.
Instead, he chose to stay at more expensive hotels “with fewer standard security resources.” Pruitt would then bring his own security team with him at the taxpayer’s expense, the letter states.
The
letter addressed to Trump states that while Chmielewski repeatedly reaffirmed
his loyalty to Trump, Chmielewski explained his decision to speak out
against Pruitt as, “regardless of political party, ‘right is right, and wrong
is wrong.'”
While Chmielewski’s
account provides a new level of insight into the way Pruitt has sought to quash
opposition within the EPA, he isn’t alone — at least four other EPA employees
were demoted
or reassigned for questioning Pruitt’s extravagant demands, the New
York Times reported last week.
And
as letter to Pruitt states, if the information provided by
Chmielewski proves to be accurate, it “leaves us certain that your leadership
at EPA has been fraught with numerous and repeated unethical and potentially
illegal actions on a wide range of consequential matters that you and some
members of your staff directed.”