You may see Scott Pruitt on a first class trip back to Oklahoma very soon. Well, that is if he can find a lobbyist, government or friend to pay for it.
Following this past weekend's report in the New York Times that showed Pruitt took part in some shady, questionable, and unethical conduct to jump-start his political and business career, Jim Inhofe – our esteemed global warming denying, anti-environment, lunatic senator – is now questioning the ethics of his old pal Pruitt and calling for an investigation.
Via the New York Times:
Scott Pruitt’s Political Patron Now Questions the E.P.A. Chief’s Ethics
Scott Pruitt, the head of the Environmental Protection Agency, may be losing support even from his staunchest allies. His longtime political patron, Senator James Inhofe, said Tuesday that he would like to see an investigation into the ethical allegations against his protégé. If any prove true, he said, they could “have an effect” on Mr. Pruitt’s job.
Mr. Inhofe said he was troubled by a recent New York Times story that detailed allegations of unchecked spending and ethics questions during Mr. Pruitt’s career as attorney general and state senator in Oklahoma.
“I’ve known him since he was in the state legislature and supported him,” Mr. Inhofe said Tuesday. “These are accusations I did not know anything about.”
Really? We're supposed to believe that Inhofe – a senile old idiot who simply does what oil companies, lobbyists and GOP leadership tells him to do – didn't know about Pruitt's land and business dealings? Actually, that sounds very believable.
Here's more:
Mr. Inhofe once flew Mr. Pruitt around the state in his personal airplane as the younger man campaigned for office. When the Trump administration nominated Mr. Pruitt to run the E.P.A., Mr. Inhofe gave him a glowing introductory speech at his Senate confirmation hearing.
As reports have piled up in recent weeks questioning the ethics of several of Mr. Pruitt’s decisions, including his illegal purchase of an office phone booth, his expenditures on first-class travel and his rental of a condominium linked to an energy lobbyist, Mr. Inhofe continued to support him.
But Mr. Inhofe said on Tuesday that he was now concerned enough about the allegations — particularly those of ethical lapses in Oklahoma — that he would like to see them investigated...
Inhofe is calling for investigation into Pruitt's activities?! That's insane. It would be like James Lankford asking for congress to investigate the accuracy of the Bible. In fact, it's such a snowball throw out of left field that I wonder if there's something more to it. Here are some wild guesses ranked from least-likely to likely:
1. Jim Inhofe has grown a soul. Yeah right.
2. Jim Inhofe is jealous of Pruitt's celebrity and media attention. For nearly two decades, Jim Inhofe was the go-to dystopian voice when it came to denying global warming and other scientific facts, but then Pruitt swooped in like a vulture to take the title. Perhaps that rubbed Inhofe the wrong way, and now the sensei is showing the student who's in charge?
3. Inhofe was mailed a photograph of Scott Pruitt eating avocado toast and kale. I'm sure that would set the Senator off.
4. Jim Inhofe is protecting his own ass. Would anyone be surprised if the Times story about Pruitt is just the tip of a massive iceberg breaking off the coast of Greenland? Who knows, maybe it goes deeper and Inhofe is also involved. If so, it would be a wise move for Inhofe to get in front of the story, lead an investigation, nip the whole problem in the bud, and put someone else in charge.
According to the Times, that may already be in the works:
The possible loss of Mr. Inhofe’s support means “that Pruitt is in big trouble,” John Feehery, a Republican strategist who worked for former House Speaker Dennis Hastert and the former House majority leader Tom DeLay, wrote in an email...
Privately, many of the former Inhofe staff members now in the Trump administration say they are fed up with the chaos surrounding Mr. Pruitt and are more than ready to see him go. They noted that another former member of Inhofe’s staff, Andrew Wheeler, had recently been confirmed as Mr. Pruitt’s deputy, and that Mr. Wheeler, a former coal lobbyist, was well positioned to continue the agenda of rolling back environmental rules should Mr. Pruitt step down.
That's nice. It's good to know we have so many ready and able-bodied white men in Washington D.C. ready to bring down the Environmental Protection Agency. U-S-A!!! U-S-A!!! U-S-A!!!
Anyway, we'll continue to follow this story and provide any updates. In the meantime, if you're a corporate lobbyist looking to sell a house at below market value so Pruitt can flip it in a few years for profit, I'd get to work. He may be back in Oklahoma sooner rather than later.
