Emails Reveal EPA’s Scott Pruitt Was Cozy With The Fossil Fuel Industry

Scott Pruitt, President-elect Donal Trump’s nominee to run the Environmental Protection Agency, testifies at his confirmation hearing before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2017. The nomination of Pruitt, currently Oklahoma’s attorney general, to lead the EPA is being fiercely opposed by environmental groups that point to fundraising ties with corporations he has sued to protect. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Scott Pruitt, President-elect Donal Trump’s nominee to run the Environmental Protection Agency, testifies at his confirmation hearing before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee on Capitol Hill in Wash... Scott Pruitt, President-elect Donal Trump’s nominee to run the Environmental Protection Agency, testifies at his confirmation hearing before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2017. The nomination of Pruitt, currently Oklahoma’s attorney general, to lead the EPA is being fiercely opposed by environmental groups that point to fundraising ties with corporations he has sued to protect. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) MORE LESS

WASHINGTON (AP) — While serving as Oklahoma’s attorney general, new Environmental Protection Agency chief Scott Pruitt was in frequent contact with fossil fuel companies and special interest groups working to undermine federal efforts to curb planet-warming carbon emissions.

This was shown by emails released under court order late Tuesday after an Oklahoma judge ruled that Pruitt had been illegally withholding his official correspondence from the public for the last two years.

The Republican-dominated Senate voted to confirm President Donald Trump’s pick to lead EPA on Friday in a largely party-line vote. Democrats had sought to delay the vote until Pruitt’s emails were released.

The more than 7,000 emails show Pruitt and his staff coordinating strategy with conservative groups funded by oil and gas companies and executives, including billionaire brothers David and Charles Koch.

Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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  1. Now that we know what we already knew …

  2. Congress had the chance to prevent this heartburn, but they chose to ignore their duties. Like I wrote earlier, there will be a bumper crop of scandals weighing down the bastards in the mid-terms.

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