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WASHINGTON – The Ethics Officer of the Agency for Environmental Protection – the official whose main role is to help agency staff to obey ethical laws from the government – is working behind the scenes to push a series of independent inquiries into possible irregularities by Scott Pruitt, the agency's administrator, a letter sent this week states
The letter is the first Public acknowledgment that Kevin S. Minoli, who has often defended Mr. Pruitt's actions since he took over the agency in February 2017, openly questions openly whether Mr. Pruitt has violated the rules of the law. Federal Ethics
The investigations recommended by Mr. Minoli include a review of how Mr. Pruitt rented a $ 50 condominium last night at Capitol Hill while he was the subject of a $ 50 donation. lobbying by J. Steven Hart, the spouse of the owner of the condo, according to a federal official with direct knowledge of the investigations, who asked not to be named since the details of the investigation
In March, Mr. Minoli defended Mr. Pruitt's lease for the condo, saying that Mr. Pruitt had paid what appeared to be the fair market value. He then learned that Mr. Hart, who at the time was president of the Williams & Jensen lobbying firm, had made repeated representations to the EPA and Mr. Pruitt directly, on behalf of his clients. lobbying that included Smithfield Foods and Coca-Cola
Minoli also asked the inspector general of the agency, the agency's independent investigation bureau, to consider evidence that a Mr. Pruitt employee helped him find housing and other personal business during work hours last year. And a request was also forwarded to the Inspector General regarding a payment of $ 2,000 that Mr. Pruitt's wife, Marlyn, received from Concordia, a non-profit group based in Manhattan had invited Mr. Pruitt to speak last year. York
. Pruitt is facing 13 federal investigations into its expenditures and management practices as E.P.A. the administrator, including the condominium agreement and the use of staff members for personal shopping, as well as his first class travel expenses and the installation of a $ 43,000 soundproof telephone booth in his office.
The E.P.A. Saturday declined to comment on the allegations relating to Mr. Pruitt. In the past, the agency said that Mr. Pruitt had paid rent for the condominium, so there was nothing inappropriate in this agreement, and the old help, Millan Hupp, is a friend of Mr. Pruitt's family and provided him with personal assistance.
Questions such as those raised by Mr. Minoli for investigators may be a violation of federal ethics rules because, for example, staff members are not allowed to use the resources of the body for their personal benefit. with my obligations under the regulations of the Government's Office of Ethics, I referred a number of these issues to the EPA's Inspector General and I provided "active and immediate help" to the Inspector General and his office. Wednesday, by Mr. Minoli. A copy of the letter was obtained by The New York Times as part of a request for access to information. "As far as I know, all the questions I have mentioned are either under study or under investigation."
The letter does not mention the specific issues or the total number of references related to Mr. Pruitt
The pressure to investigate Mr. Pruitt came from the fact that the Ethics Office of the EPA, which is part of the office of the agency's legal counsel, suffered a serious shortage of staff because of the agency's freeze last year. said. At one point, last summer, after retirements and other temporary departures, the office had only one full – time employee
. Minoli has since moved to rebuild the office and expects to soon have six staff members and a manager to help meet the influx of requests he's received, the letter said.
John Konkus, an E.P.A. In a statement released Saturday afternoon, the public affairs officer said that before Mr. Minoli wrote his letter, the agency had authorized the hiring of two staff members for his office so to allow him to expand his work and improve his continuing education in ethics. for the EPA staff. "He also stated that" the entire E.P.A. is always sensitive to O.I.G. Referring to the Office of the Inspector General of the Agency, his statement did not deal with the allegations against Mr. Pruitt
Minoli sent the five-page note to David J. Apol, Director Interim Office of the Government Ethics Office, which oversees ethics programs in all federal agencies. "Minoli's note came in part in response to two letters that Mr. Apol sent to EPA [19659002] "Public trust requires that all employees act in the public interest and be free from real or perceived conflict, when they fulfill the government responsibilities entrusted to them", Mr. Apol wrote to Mr. Minoli in April. "Agency heads in particular bear increased responsibility," he added, before detailing some of the same ethical allegations that Mr. Minoli would have asked for as well. to the Inspector General of the Agency of 3 9.
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