Scott Pruitt's D.C. Lobbyist Landlord Also Funded His Oklahoma Attorney General Campaign
Source: The Daily Beast
The townhouse where Pruitt stayed was known on the Hill as the Williams & Jensen condo
SAM STEIN
LACHLAN MARKAY
04.03.18 1:53 PM ET
Before Environmental Protection Agency chief Scott Pruitt rented a room from a top DC energy lobbyist, that lobbyist and his wife funded Pruitts efforts to climb the political ladder in his home state of Oklahoma.
Campaign finance records in the state show that Steven and Vicki Hart, the power couple who last year rented Pruitt a room in their Capitol Hill home for $50 per night, began donating to Pruitts campaigns for Oklahoma attorney general in 2010. Steven Hart even hosted a fundraiser for Pruitts reelection effort.
The cascading controversy over Pruitts living arrangements has roiled his standing in the administration. The New York Times reported on Monday that a client of Harts firm, Williams & Jensen, received EPA approval for an oil pipeline project while Pruitt rented a room in Harts home. Also on Monday, the Wall Street Journal reported that the White House was investigating Pruitts conduct. And on Tuesday, The Washington Post revealed that a top Pruitt aide who oversaw a pair of allied political groups had been tasked with finding living arrangements for the administrator in Washington. But one detail has remained murky: how, and when, the relationship between Pruitt and the Harts began. A Daily Beast review of public records reveals that that relationship goes back years, and has resulted in significant financial upside for Pruitts political operation.
The Harts first apparent contribution to Pruitt was a $500 donation in October of 2010, about two weeks before Pruitt was first elected attorney general. They donated $1,000 the following year, and $250 the year after. When Pruitt ran for reelection in 2014, Steven Hart footed the bill for a fundraising reception benefitting his campaign. After he was reelected, Pruitt set up a federal political committee that made contributions to allied Republicans. Hart donated to that group in 2015.
Read more: https://www.thedailybeast.com/scott-pruitts-dc-lobbyist-landlord-also-funded-his-oklahoma-attorney-general-campaign?ref=home
mahatmakanejeeves
(57,727 posts)justhanginon
(3,290 posts)evidenced by recent events with the EPA's Pruitt's decisions.
riversedge
(70,441 posts)Vinca
(50,326 posts)business interests when nothing remotely close to that kind of activity is in his job description.
gilligan
(194 posts)D.J.T.