The EPA is now investigating Scott Pruitt's use of private email accounts, too
Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt is now the subject of 12 federal investigations, after the EPA inspector general's office said it's looking into Pruitt's use of private email accounts. Sens. Tom Carper (D-Del.) and Jeff Merkeley (D-Ore.) had requested that the inspector general look into whether the EPA was preserving Pruitt's communications, as required by law, and searching his nonpublic accounts when conducting Freedom of Information Act requests. Carper and Berkeley sit on the Senate Environmental and Public Works Committee, and its chairman, Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), has also raised concerns about Pruitt's private email use.
In a letter released Tuesday by Carper and Merkeley, EPA Inspector General Arthur Elkins said that "the issues raised in your letter are within the authority of the OIG to review, and we will do so," but added that due to financial and personnel constraints, his office can't start the investigation right away. "The fact is that the OIG has been funded at less than the levels we deem adequate to do all of the work that should be done," he wrote. Plus, he did not mention, investigating Pruitt's behavior seems to be an unexpectedly resource-intensive undertaking.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
Fall into the groove at these delightful record stores
The Week Recommends Each one strikes its own chord
By Catherine Garcia, The Week US Published
-
How likely are you to get audited by the IRS?
The Explainer The odds are greater for some than others
By Anya Jaremko-Greenwold, The Week US Published
-
Crossword: April 22, 2024
The Week's daily crossword
By The Week Staff Published
-
Puffed rice and yoga: inside the collapsed tunnel where Indian workers await rescue
Speed Read Workers trapped in collapsed tunnel are suffering from dysentery and anxiety over their rescue
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
More than 2,000 dead following massive earthquake in Morocco
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Mexico's next president will almost certainly be its 1st female president
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
North Korea's Kim to visit Putin in eastern Russia to discuss arms sales for Ukraine war, U.S. says
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Gabon's military leader sworn in following coup in latest African uprising
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Nobody seems surprised Wagner's Prigozhin died under suspicious circumstances
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Western mountain climbers allegedly left Pakistani porter to die on K2
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
'Circular saw blades' divide controversial Rio Grande buoys installed by Texas governor
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published