>>> SOME PEOPLE MIGHT CALL IT DRAINING THE SWAMP.
MAYBE THE BETTER QUESTION IS HOW
TOXIC IS THE EPA ABOUT TO BECOME
WITH EMBATTLED ADMINISTRATOR
SCOTT PRUITT NOW OUT.
THE PRESIDENT ANNOUNCED NEWS AND
NAMED ANDREW WHEELER AS THE
ACTING HEAD OF THE AGENCY.
IN PRUITT’S OFFICIAL RESIGNATION
LETTER, HE NOTED IT WAS AN HONOR
TO SERVE UNDER PRESIDENT TRUMP.
ACTUALLY, IT WAS SUCH AN HONOR,
HE MENTIONED THAT PHRASE EIGHT
TIMES THROUGHOUT THE LETTER, AND
SIGNED OFF WITH, "YOUR FAITHFUL
FRIEND, SCOTT PRUITT."
JOINING ME, ERIC LIPTON, "NEW
YORK TIMES."
YORK TIMES." DON REEDS IS SENIOR
CORRESPONDENT FOR "INSIDE EPA."
ERIC, YOU GOT SOME NEW REPORTING
THAT CAME OUT JUST MINUTES
BEFORE THE ANNOUNCEMENT THAT
PRUITT WAS GONE.
YOU SAID, QUOTE, LAST SUMMER,
ONE OF HIS SENIOR SCHEDULERS WAS
FIRED BY MR. PRUITT’S FORMER
DEPUTY CHIEF OF STAFF WHO SAID
HE LET HER GO BECAUSE SHE WAS
QUESTIONING THE PRACTICE OF
RETROACTIVELY DELETING MESSAGES
FROM THE CALENDAR.
LAY OUT SOME OF THE OTHER
MESSAGES, DETAILS OF YOUR
REPORTING, AND ANYTHING YOU
MIGHT KNOW ABOUT WHY, AFTER ALL
OF THESE INVESTIGATIONS, HE’S
GONE NOW.
GONE NOW. >> SURE.
>> SURE. I MEAN, WHAT WAS HAPPENING THERE
APPARENTLY, ACCORDING TO KEVIN
SHEMLUSKY AND ANOTHER AIDE WHO
WAS A SCHEDULER WHO HAD WORKED
ON THE HIL AND KOCH INDUSTRIES
AND BECAME AN AIDE TO PRUETT,
THEY WERE MAKING MODIFICATIONS
IN THE SCHEDULE TO REMOVE THINGS
THAT PRUITT DID NOT WANT PUBLIC.
MODIFYING A FEDERAL RECORD AFTER
SOMETHING HAS BEEN PUT ON PAPER
IS BOTH A CIVIL AND POTENTIALLY
A CRIMINAL OFFENSE.
I THINK THAT REFLECTS PART OF
THE REASON THAT SCOTT PRUITT IS
NOW DEPARTED THE BUILDING OR
DEPARTING TODAY, IS THAT WE
SHIFTED FROM JUST, YOU KNOW,
QUESTIONS ABOUT HIS ELABORATE
SPENDING AND SECURITY, FIRST
CLASS FLIGHTS, TO THINGS THAT
WERE POTENTIALLY REAL ETHICS
VIOLATIONS AND POTENTIALLY EVEN
CRIMINAL VIOLATIONS.
CRIMINAL VIOLATIONS. SO IT’S GETTING MORE SERIOUS.
I THINK AT THE WHITE HOUSE, THE
CHIEF OF STAFF KELLY WAS
COMPLETELY FED UP WITH THIS.
THEY WERE, YOU KNOW, HOW MANY
STORIES A DAY WE’RE GOING TO GET
THAT ARE EMBARRASSING US.
ALSO WE HAD THE MIDTERMS COMING
UP AND PRUETT WAS A LIABILITY.
THEY DIDN’T WANT HIM TO CAUSE
THE PARTY TO GET HURT.
>> THE OBVIOUS FOLLOW UP TO THAT
IS DOES PRUETT GO OUT INTO A
WORLD WITH A CLEAN SLATE NOW?
ALL OF THIS JUST GOES AWAY?
OR ARE THERE STILL POTENTIAL
LIABILITIES FOR HIM?
>> WELL, I THINK THERE ARE SOME
POTENTIAL LIABILITIES FOR THE
INVESTIGATIONS THAT HAVE FOUND
OR WILL FIND ANYTHING CRIMINALLY
WRONGDOING.
WRONGDOING. THERE WAS -- CONGRESS HAD
DETERMINED THAT SOME OF THE
MONEY HE SPENT SECURING HIS
OFFICE WAS IN VIOLATION OF -- HE
NEEDED TO GO AND ASK CONGRESS
FOR PERMISSION TO DO THAT.
AND HE DID NOT DO SO.
SO WHETHER THOSE THINGS CONTINUE
OR NOT, AFTER HE LEAVES, I THINK
REMAINS TO BE SEEN.
I THINK HE’LL GO BACK TO
OKLAHOMA AND, FRANKLY, SOME OF
THIS MIGHT HELP HIM THERE IN
HIS -- FURTHER CAREER, WHATEVER
HE DECIDES THAT MIGHT BE.
>> LET ME ASK YOU A LITTLE BIT
ABOUT ANDREW WHEELER, DAWN,
BECAUSE OBVIOUSLY ENVIRONMENTAL
ACTIVISTS CHEERED.
ACTIVISTS CHEERED. THEY’D BEEN WANTING PRUITT GONE
SINCE BEFORE HE WAS EVEN
CONFIRMED.
CONFIRMED. AND WE HEARD A LOT FROM
PROGRESSIVE MEMBERS OF CONGRESS,
SO HAPPY HE’S GONE.
IS HIS EXIT ACTUALLY GOING TO
CHANGE ANYTHING POLICYWISE IN
THE EPA?
THE EPA? >> WELL, MAYBE A FEW THINGS
POLICYWISE.
POLICYWISE. ANDY WHEELER WILL CONTINUE WITH
THE DEREGULATORY AGENDA FOR
SURE.
SURE. HE’S PROBABLY GOING TO BE A BIT
MORE METHODICAL THAN SCOTT
PRUITT WAS.
PRUITT WAS. THERE’S A FEW THINGS THAT ANDY
MAY BACK OFF FROM.
PRUITT WAS GUNNING TO HAVE A
FIGHT WITH CALIFORNIA OVER SOME
OF THE VEHICLE RULES.
BUT I’M NOT QUITE SURE THAT’S
SOMETHING WHEELER’S GOING TO
WANT TO UNDERTAKE.
SO YOU WILL SEE SOME
DIFFERENCES.
DIFFERENCES. >> MEN TIME,ANTIME, IN HIS RES E
LETTER, PRUITT TALKED ABOUT THE
UNRELENTING ATTACKS AGAINST HIM
AND HIS FAMILY.
I WANT TO REMIND PEOPLE OF THE
MOMENT PRUITT WAS CONFRONTED
ABOUT PRESIDENT TRUMP DRAINING
THE SWAMP.
THE SWAMP. >> PRESIDENT TRUMP SAID HE WOULD
DRAIN THE SWAMP.
>> I DON’T --
>> IS DRAINING THE SWAMP RENTING
AN APARTMENT FROM THE WIFE OF A
WASHINGTON LOBBYIST?
WASHINGTON LOBBYIST? >> I DON’T THINK THAT THAT’S
EVEN REMOTELY FAIR TO ASK THAT
QUESTION.
QUESTION. >> HE DIDN’T THINK ANY OF THIS
WAS FAIR.
WAS FAIR. YOU’VE BEEN COVERING PRUITT,
ERIC, FOR YEARS.
YOU TWEETED YOUR FIRST REPORT ON
THEN OKLAHOMA ATTORNEY GENERAL
FROM 2014, AND YOU SAY THE KIND
OF THINGS FROM THE 2014 REPORT
NEVER WENT AWAY.
EXPLAIN.
EXPLAIN. >>
>> >>.
>>. >> WHAT WE SAW IS HE WAS ALREADY
WORKING EXTREMELY CLOSELY WITH
THE OIL AND GAS INDUSTRY TO HELP
TRY TO MOVE ITS AGENDA.
HE WAS SUING REPEATEDLY THE
OBAMA ADMINISTRATION TO TRY TO
BLOCK RULES THAT THE OIL AND GAS
INDUSTRY AND COAL INDUSTRY DID
NOT WANT.
NOT WANT. HE WAS DOING IT AT THE SAME TIME
HE WAS TAKING LARGE AMOUNTS OF
MONEY THROUGH REPUBLICAN
ATTORNEYS GENERAL GROUP.
HE SPENDS MOST OF HIS TIME
MEETING, WHEN HE’S OUTSIDE OF
THE OFFICE WITH OIL, GAS, COAL
AND AGRICULTURAL INDUSTRY
EXECUTIVES.
EXECUTIVES. AND IT SEEMS AS IF THIS ALLIANCE
BETWEEN THEM -- BETWEEN HIM AND
THE INDUSTRY REALLY CONTINUED.
AND FOR HIM TO SUGGEST THAT THIS
WAS THE MEDIA GOING AFTER HIM, I
MEAN, WE WOULD RATHER FOCUS ON
WRITING ABOUT ENVIRONMENTAL
POLICY, BUT WE KEPT BEING
DISTRACTED BY THINGS HE WAS
DOING THAT WERE -- THAT EVEN HIS
OWN ALLIES AND PEOPLE THAT HE
HIRED SAID WAS UNETHICAL.
AND WE WERE COMPELLED TO SPEND
OUR TIME WRITING OUR STORIES.
IT WAS NOT OUT OF ANY PERSONAL
DESIRE TO HURT HIM OR HIS FAMILY
OR TO EMBARRASS HIM.
IT WAS HIS OWN ACTIONS THAT
RESULTED IN HIS DEPARTURE.
>> IT’S ACTUALLY WHAT
JOURNALISTS DO.
JOURNALISTS DO. I SUPPOSE MAYBE HE THINKS LAURA
INGRAHAM IS ONE OF THE PEOPLE
WHO WAS SO UNFAIR TO HIM BECAUSE
SHE HAD TURNED AGAINST HIM.
I WANT TO SHOW YOU BOTH -- YOU
PROBABLY SAW IT, "THE NEW YORK
POST."
POST." THEY HAVE A SEASON TWO UPDATE
SHOWING HIM ACTIONXED FROM THE
ADMINISTRATION.
ADMINISTRATION. PRUITT WASN’T THE ONLY ONE UNDER
SCRUTINY.
SCRUTINY. FOR SPENDING OR TRAVEL, YOU’VE
GOT BEN CARSON, WILBUR ROSS.
WITH ALL THE ETHIC QUESTIONS
THEY HAVE RAISED, DO YOU THINK
THIS IS A ONE OFF OR DOES THIS
SIGNAL ANYTHING FOR THEM?
>> PRUITT WAS SUCH A DIFFERENT
LEAGUE WITH THE FREQUENCY --
>> FROM ANYONE EVER.
>> YES.
>> YES. SO, I MEAN, YOU KNOW, WITH
MNUCHIN
MNUCHIN MNUCHIN, WE’VE HAD SOME BLIPS.
THERE’S MORE TO REPORT I’M SURE.
PERHAPS THEY’LL BE RESOURCES
THAT CAN SHIFT TO SOME OF THE
OTHER AGENCIES.
OTHER AGENCIES. AND, YOU KNOW, TO FOCUS ON GOOD,
BAD, AND DIFFERENT THINGS
THEY’RE DOING.
THEY’RE DOING. THE EX-ETHICS WRONGDOING.
THE ONLY HOUSE OVERSIGHT
INVESTIGATION GOING ON ACTIVELY
OF A SIT BE MEMBER OF TRUMP’S
CABINET WAS THE EPA.
AND HE WAS -- YOU KNOW, THERE
WAS AN OPEN INVESTIGATION.