The lobbyist whose wife rented a Washington, D.C., condominium to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt tried to get EPA committee posts for a lobbying client, according to a new EPA memo analyzed by The Associated Press.
According to the report, J. Steven Hart wrote to Pruitt’s chief of staff Ryan Jackson in August to “highlight three candidates” for the EPA science advisory board. He was identified as a lobbyist on the memo.
Jackson said in a statement that the three suggestions by Hart were among hundreds and were ultimately not appointed to the board, the AP reported.
The reported memo adds to the reports concerning expenses and relationships during Pruitt’s tenure at the EPA that have triggered intense scrutiny of the administrator.
Rep. Frank Pallone Jr. (N.J.), the senior Democrat on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, said that efforts made by Hart to get Pruitt to give his client appointments shows “the extent to which the special interests providing [Pruitt] with gifts have sought specific favors from EPA in return,” the AP reported.
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Pruitt rented the condo on a $50-per-night basis, an arrangement that critics have called a “sweetheart” deal. Pruitt told Fox News last month in his defense of the living arrangements that Hart didn’t have clients that had business with the EPA.
Hart has since said that he met with Pruitt in July, about one month before he sent the proposed appointments.
The administrator has also been criticized for, among other actions, costly foreign and domestic trips and an upgraded security detail.
Pruitt has blamed his staff for many of the other controversial expenses by his office, including the purchase of a $43,000 soundproof booth.