Politico reports that an EPA staffer who produced a report showing that Scott Pruitt’s security concerns were worse than ridiculous, has been dismissed for the crime of embarrassing the boss.
EPA removed a career staffer Tuesday who approved an internal report that undermined Administrator Scott Pruitt's claims that he needed around-the-clock bodyguards and other expensive security protection, according to two former agency employees familiar with the situation.
Scott Pruitt’s multi-million security expenses include, but are not limited to: a 20-man full time security staff, a second security system installed inside the existing EPA security system, an entire floor of the building cleared for his use, and requests for both a bulletproof car and a bulletproof desk. And, of course, Pruitt has used the dire threats that have come his way to justify why he doesn’t just fly first class as he goes around the world promoting things that the EPA doesn’t promote, but often commandeers military planes a a cost of $30,000 a flight or more. As part of a $120,000 excursion to Italy, Pruitt borrowed a military plane just to get between two airports, at a cost of $36,000.
Pruitt has justified all this expense on the idea that he faces threats. Dire threats. Threats utterly unlike the threats faced by any previous cabinet secretary. Threats that are somehow abated by the flappy curtain and free drinks that separates first class from flying coach. The trouble is, a FOIA request to the EPA asking to see these threats, turned up no threats.
The EPA said there were “zero records” about death threats in reply to BuzzFeed investigative reporter Jason Leopold’s request for all information.
It gets even better. What the report showed as the threats against Pruitt were limited to:
- Protesters chanting outside a fundraiser
- A letter that came from a prisoner who is still locked up
- A postcard saying “Climate change is real. We are watching you."
That’s all it took to send Pruitt shivering to the front of the plane, where he was forced to endure the safety of more leg room and warm towels. And now Mario Carabello, the deputy administrator of the EPA's Office of Homeland Security, has been sacked for pointing out that emperor Pruitt has no justification at all for squandering taxpayer dollars.
Campaign Action
Carabello’s report was written back in February and it “failed to identify credible threats” against Pruitt. But it wasn’t until Democratic Senators Tom Carper and Sheldon Whitehouse sent a note on Tuesday citing the report’s conclusion that there was no reason for the public to shell out for Pruitt’s paranoia, that Pruitt suddenly discovered an issue with Carabello.
Carper and Whitehouse directed their concerns to Republican Senator John Barrasso, who chairs the Environment and Public Works Committee. And in a true illustration of how things are now down in Washington, Barrasso jumped right on the issue … by attacking the Democratic Senators.
Barrasso rejected their request, while bashing the two Democrats for releasing “sensitive information.”
"I am deeply troubled that members of the committee would publicly release lawenforcement sensitive information regarding the safety and security of a cabinet member and his family,” Barrasso said in a statement. "This letter selectively quotes non-public documents."
The letter quotes a report saying there are no credible threats against Pruitt. Showing that his insane expenses are actually insane.
- Scott Pruitt wastes ungodly sums of money claiming he is subject to terrible threats.
- An internal report finds there are no threats.
- Democratic Senators request a hearing to review the information.
- The staffer who wrote the report is fired and the Democrats chastised for talking about security.
Which seems perfectly fitting with all the other corruption going on in Pruitt’s EPA, Trump’s White House, and the Republican Congress.