EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt may get the award for more scandals, and in less time, than any cabinet-level appointee in U.S. history. Perhaps world history. In the middle of April, nearly two months ago, CNN put the list of Scott Pruitt scandals at 15. It’s grown substantially since then. Huffpost on Tuesday reports that in the past four weeks alone Pruitt has racked up “at least 10 new scandals.”
His most recent scandal?
“Three months after Scott Pruitt was sworn in as head of the Environmental Protection Agency, his scheduler emailed Dan Cathy, chief executive of the fast-food company Chick-fil-A, with an unusual request: Would Cathy meet with Pruitt to discuss ‘a potential business opportunity’?” The Washington Post reports.
“A call was arranged, then canceled, and Pruitt eventually spoke with someone from the company’s legal department. Only then did he reveal that the ‘opportunity’ on his mind was a job for his wife, Marlyn.”
In short, he wanted his wife to become a Chick-fil-A franchise owner, and saw nothing wrong with using his federal government office, title, regulatory powers, staff, and even government email, to help his wife make money.
Does he deny it?
Nope.
Minutes ago a Fox Business D.C. correspondent posted video (below) of her asking the EPA chief about reports he tried to get a Chick-fil-A franchise for his spouse.
Pruitt actually suggests it’s only a story because he’s making big changes and “with great change comes significant opposition.”
He also says his wife is an entrepreneur, as if somehow that makes breaking the law OK.
“I love, she loves, we love Chick-fil-A as a franchise, as a faith, and it’s one of the best in the country,” he offers in defense of breaking the law.
Watch:
“Federal ethics laws bar public officials from using their position or staff for private gain,” The Post adds. Using his assistant to line up the meetings with the fast food chain’s chief is also a violation, according to the ethics expert the Post interviewed.