As regular news readers are aware, Donald Trump's chosen head of the Environmental Protection Agency, Scott Pruitt, appears to be out of his gourd. He has surrounded himself with a 24-hour security detail; he has claimed that his first-class jet travels are a security necessity; he has installed a "secure" phone room in an office closet, rather than using the EPA-provided secure communications room in the same building; he requested, among other things, a "bulletproof" desk for the security station outside his office. The excuse given for many of these acts is, according to Scott Pruitt, "death threats."
Reporters have been diligently inquiring into what "death threats" could necessitate such elaborate security spending. And none of them have so far been able to uncover just what the hell Scott Pruitt has been talking about; the EPA has been able to turn up not a single record of Pruitt being threatened.
But details about any threats to Pruitt are sparse. One supposed threat that was investigated was a postcard to Pruitt with the message: “You ignorant fuck,” according to EPA records. Authorities also investigated two protesters who interrupted a speech by Pruitt.
The EPA said there were “zero records” about death threats in reply to BuzzFeed investigative reporter Jason Leopold’s request for all information.
Similarly, there is no evidence in the nation's various court systems of anybody being arrested for such a crime.
The Associated Press reported last week that its “nationwide search of federal and state court records ... found no case where anyone has been arrested or charged with threatening Pruitt.” The EPA did not respond to AP’s request Friday to provide details of “any specific threats or arrests.”
It appears, in other words, that EPA head Scott Pruitt has been lying about the "threats" he has received. It stands to reason that if the EPA is now shelling out millions of dollars to "protect" Pruitt, they would have at least one memo or email transaction explaining the need for such measures; they have, apparently, not even one. No emails, no memos, no arrests. They have trotted out a series of spite-filled messages, but none have been considered by authorities to be credible threats against the man.
So as of the moment, it looks like Pruitt's demands for extra security and other over-the-top demands for more lavish treatment than his predecessors are not, in fact, because of "death threats." At least, not ones that the rest of us can see or hear.