PoliticsDonald TrumpU.S. NewsEnvironmental Protection Agency

Donald Trump's EPA Pick Sued Over Thousands Of Undisclosed Records

A media watchdog group and the ACLU are pushing Scott Pruitt to disclose his ties to the energy industry before the Senate votes to confirm him.
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By 

Senior Reporter, HuffPost

When the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee convened last week to vote on Scott Pruitt’s confirmation as administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, 10 out of 21 committee members were conspicuously missing.

All of the committee’s Democrats boycotted the vote, citing concerns that Pruitt, Oklahoma’s attorney general, had not adequately responded to their questions during his confirmation hearing. They said Pruitt had also failed to fulfill open records requests regarding his ties to the fossil fuel industry, which has provoked anxiety among conservationists and public health experts.

The committee’s Republicans advanced Pruitt’s nomination despite the boycott, and he’s expected to face a full Senate vote next week.

But Pruitt may not be off the hook just yet. 

The media watchdog group Center for Media and Democracy, with legal representation from the American Civil Liberties Union, filed a lawsuit against Pruitt in an Oklahoma court on Tuesday seeking to force Pruitt to respond to nine open records requests. The requests were filed as far back as January 2015. The suit is also seeking the release of communications between Pruitt’s office and the energy industry, including corporations like Koch Industries, Peabody Energy and the National Coal Council. 

CMD said in a statement that Pruitt had “yet to turn over a single document,” despite acknowledging last year that his office had “3,000 emails and other documents” relevant to the requests.

“We are doing this because these emails should be released so that people can properly vet his record before the Senate votes to confirm him,” Nick Surgey, the center’s director of research, told Reuters news agency.

The lawsuit accuses Pruitt of violating Oklahoma’s Open Records Act in failing to publicly release the documents. The act mandates that a public body “must provide prompt, reasonable access to its records” to allow people to be “fully informed about their government.”  

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The ties that Scott Pruitt, the nominee for Environmental Protection Agency administrator, has to Big Oil have come under heavy scrutiny in recent weeks.
Bloomberg/Getty Images

Ryan Kiesel, executive director of the Oklahoma chapter of the ACLU, said Tuesday that Pruitt’s office had two years to respond to a lawful request for documents.

“Instead of complying with the law, he has stonewalled public interest groups, the United States Senate, and the American people,” Kiesel said in a statement.

“Pruitt’s refusal to turn over these documents is unreasonable and unjustifiable,” he continued.

“The lawsuit we filed today serves notice that when it comes to accountability and transparency, no government official is above the law.”

The Center for Media and Democracy said an expedited hearing is scheduled for Feb. 16. 

The Oklahoma Attorney General’s office has agreed to a judge’s order requiring it to retain all relevant documents while the case is pending, the group said. 

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The nomination of Scott Pruitt to lead the Environmental Protection Agency has faced fierce resistance. This week, more than 440 former EPA employees signed a letter urging the Senate to reject the nomination.
RJ Sangosti via Getty Images

Pruitt’s ties to the oil industry have come under heavy scrutiny in recent weeks. He has received more than $300,000 in contributions from the fossil fuel industry since 2002. As attorney general, he’s been accused of prioritizing industry interests over the health of the environment and his constituents.

In 2014, The New York Times reported that Pruitt, together with other Republican attorneys general, had formed an “unprecedented, secretive alliance” with major oil and gas companies to undermine environmental regulations. One of the firms, Oklahoma’s Devon Energy, drafted a letter for Pruitt to send to the EPA in 2011. Pruitt printed the document on state letterhead and sent it off, almost verbatim, to Washington, D.C.

Pruitt also joined industry players in filing lawsuits to stop regulations, including Oklahoma Gas and Electric and the Domestic Energy Producers Alliance, an industry-backed nonprofit group.

Pruitt’s nomination to lead the EPA, an agency whose mission is to protect human health and the environment, has met fierce resistance. In addition to his close relationship with the fossil fuel industry, opponents have pointed to his hostility to the EPA as evidence of his unfitness for the job: Pruitt sued the EPA 13 times as attorney general. 

In a letter published Monday, more than 440 former EPA officials urged the Senate to reject Pruitt’s nomination. “Mr. Pruitt’s record raises serious questions about whose interests he has served to date and whether he agrees with the longstanding tenets of U.S. environmental law,” the letter reads.

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Before You Go

What You Can Do Right Now To Stop Donald Trump's Dangerous Climate Agenda
Strengthen city, county and state climate efforts(01 of07)
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If the federal government refuses to stand up against climate change, it’ll be more important than ever for cities, counties and states to pick up the slack and become climate leaders. That means committing to divest from fossil fuels, embrace clean energy, set emissions targets and develop climate action plans, among other measures.

“The ominous signals coming out of D.C. point to even more work needed at the city and state level,” said Kate Kiely, national media deputy director at the Natural Resources Defense Council. In November, the NRDC announced partnerships with 20 cities across the country from St. Paul, Minnesota, to Houston, Texas, to make strides in renewable energy.

According to Brune, cities could have an especially big influence in the climate change fight. “We should be pushing cities to go 100 percent clean energy and to reject natural gas and coal and other fossil fuels,” he said. “A majority of people now live in cities, so this could have a dramatic impact.”

In the U.S., at least 20 cities have made commitments to rely completely on clean energy.

“People should organize and get their own cities to move forward,” Brune said.

Contact your mayor, city council, or county or state representative and get them to set a timeline to stop using fossil fuels. (credit:Eduardo Munoz/Reuters)
Push companies and institutions to divest from fossil fuels(02 of07)
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“There are a lot of things that the president can’t undo. He can’t stop the fact that solar and wind are cheaper than coal and gas. He can’t change the fact that dozens of businesses have already committed to clean energy,” Brune said.

As of December, more than 640 institutions worldwide, including several universities, churches and for-profit companies and banks, have pledged to divest from their fossil fuel investments. According to Go Fossil Free, a 350.org campaign, the commitments amount to more than $3.4 trillion.

Consumers should petition companies to ditch their fossil fuel investments, and students should urge their schools and colleges to do the same.

“As we wrap up the hottest year in history, we know that investments in the fossil fuel industry fund these climate impacts. That’s why it’s more critical than ever that we push our institutions to divest from the fossil fuel companies that are knowingly perpetuating the climate crisis,” Lindsay Meiman, U.S. communications coordinator for 350.org, told HuffPost.

Want to push a company, school or place of worship to divest from fossil fuels? 350.org has a list of resources to help you start a campaign. Or find an existing one to get involved in. (credit:Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Put your money where your mouth is(03 of07)
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Petitions and protests can be powerful, but moving your money speaks volumes too. As a consumer and as an investor, ensure you're not personally financing climate change. This means, for example, choosing banks that are free of fossil fuel connections.

“Your ATM card or checking account or your mortgage, these should not be financed by companies that are taking your checking fees or other payments to subsidize the Dakota Access Pipeline or finance drilling offshore. Make sure your money aligns with your values,” Brune said.

In September, Amalgamated Bank became the first North American bank to commit to divest 100 percent from fossil fuels. Aspiration has bank accounts that are fossil fuel-free, and Beneficial State Bank has credit cards that don’t invest in fossil fuels.

Anthony Hobley, CEO of the Carbon Tracker Initiative, said consumers should also ensure that their pensions, 401(k) or other retirement savings accounts are similarly not underwriting fossil fuel companies.

“A lot of pressure can be made through the financial industry,” Hobley said from London. “Ordinary people who hold pensions can put pressure on companies through their pensions. Put pressure on the people who manage your money and that’s one way to keep pressure on those companies too.”

The financial services companies that manage retirement accounts “aren’t used to getting many letters from the people whose money they manage,” Hobley added. “It wouldn’t take much of an organized effort for them to take notice.”

Are your investments supporting fossil fuels? FossilFreeFunds.org is a web tool that allows people to check whether their individual investments or employer-provided 401(k) is supporting coal companies, oil and gas producers, and fossil-fired utilities. (credit:Andrew Burton/Getty Images)
Making a "financial case" for clean energy(04 of07)
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Hobley believes the “best chance” we have of convincing Trump to care about climate change is to make a compelling “financial case” for renewables.

With new clean energy technologies getting more efficient and cheaper than fossil fuels, a transition to renewables is “inevitable,” said Hobley. It’s just a matter of time.

“Trump can no more stop this transition than a previous U.S. president could’ve stopped the transition from steam locomotives to the automobile or the typewriter to the computer. The technological genie is already out of the bag,” he said. “It’s not a case of ‘if,’ but ‘when.’ But the ‘when’ is important because of the 2 degrees budget, and that’s where a lack of political leadership or resistance can have a real impact.”

Clear political leadership from both the U.S. and China could mean a "smoother" and faster transition to clean energy. A lack thereof, however, could “make it easier for big oil and gas companies to stay in denial” — and that “would be to their detriment,” Hobley said. “It would mean pouring more money, billions or trillions of dollars, into fossil fuel assets that we simply don’t need.”

Trump now has the opportunity to make the United States a leader in clean energy.

“These are complicated and highly technical products,” Hobley said. “With an educated and skilled workforce, these are the kinds of things that should be manufactured in the U.S.”

Creating new jobs was a central part of Trump’s election platform. Maybe someone should remind him that the clean energy industry creates more jobs per unit of energy than coal and natural gas. In 2015, the number of U.S. jobs in solar energy overtook those in oil and natural gas extraction for the very first time.

A 2015 report by NextGen Climate America found that a transition to clean energy would add a million jobs by 2030 and up to 2 million jobs by 2050, while increasing the nation's gross domestic product by $290 billion and boosting household income.

We should be citing such figures and urging utility companies and public utility commissions to embrace clean energy. (Public utility commissions regularly hold hearings that are open to the public. Attend them, and voice your thoughts!) (credit:Aaron Bernstein/Reuters)
Speak out!(05 of07)
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What’s the single biggest way you can influence climate change? According to the NRDC, it’s speaking up.

“Talk to your friends and family, and make sure your representatives are making good decisions,” Aliya Haq, deputy director of NRDC’s Clean Power Plan Initiative, wrote in a blog post. “The main reason elected officials do anything difficult is because their constituents make them.”

In the coming months and years, “there will be mass mobilizations that folks should join to push back against Trump’s regressive policies and hateful rhetoric,” said 350.org’s Meiman. “Folks can engage online by joining online actions, signing petitions and contributing their voice on social media to push back on Trump’s agenda.”

You can also participate in protests in your area or join and support local nonprofits in their fight against climate change. (credit:Pacific Press/Getty Images)
Reduce your own carbon footprint(06 of07)
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Power your own home with renewable energy, invest in energy-efficient appliances and lightbulbs, and remember to weatherize.

“Building heating and cooling are among the biggest uses of energy,” said NRDC’s Haq. Make your home more energy-efficient by sealing drafts and ensuring your home is adequately insulated and ventilated too.

Also consider changing your diet. “Cut down on meat consumption or even eliminate it from your diet completely,” Brune said. “I do think that people can have a powerful impact on the environment just by eating less meat.”

It takes 14 times as much biologically productive land to produce 1 ton of beef as it takes to produce 1 ton of grain, according to the Global Footprint Network.

Global livestock is also responsible for 14.5 percent of all anthropogenic carbon emissions, data from the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization shows.

Driving a fuel-efficient vehicle is another way to reduce your carbon footprint. You can also take steps to be more fuel efficient when you're on the road, no matter what car you drive. (credit:Hinterhaus Productions/Getty Images)
Support environmental journalism(07 of07)
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A major shortcoming of journalists during the presidential election was their failure to highlight climate change as a vital topic ― and to force Trump (and Hillary Clinton, too) to address this crisis.

Over the next four years, Trump needs to be held accountable, and the press must make climate change a central issue in his presidency.

The Society of Environmental Journalists, a nonprofit membership organization supporting environmental journalists in the U.S. and around the world, aims to “improve the quality, accuracy and visibility of reporting on the environment.” You can also support nonprofit environmental news outlets such as Inside Climate, Grist and High Country News. (credit:Jewel Samad/Getty Images)
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