The Environmental Protection Agency’s inspector general will look into Administrator Scott Pruitt’s use of nonpublic email accounts, according to a recently released letter obtained by Politico.
The inspector general plans to probe whether the department is properly saving email records and properly searching all of its email accounts in response to Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests, Politico reported. The letter confirming the investigation was released by two Democrats on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. That committee’s chairman, Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY) has expressed concerns over Pruitt’s use of private email accounts, which previous heads of the EPA have done for daily communication with staff, according to Politico.
The new investigation brings the total number of federal probes into Pruitt’s conduct — related to his first-class travel, use of around-the-clock security, raises for his closest aides and the cheap housing he got from an energy lobbyist — to 12.
Trump has remained publicly supportive of Pruitt, despite the consistent flood of scandals plaguing Pruitt and his department.
Read the letter confirming the investigation below: