1 of 1- Goose
- Cogito ergo sum
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Swamp Spreads to a Desert
A Lobbyist Helped Scott Pruitt Plan a Morocco Trip. Then Morocco Hired the Lobbyist.
WASHINGTON — Scott Pruitt, the head of the Environmental Protection Agency, allowed a lobbyist friend to play an unusually influential role in setting his agenda during a visit in December to Morocco, according to internal communications related to the scheduling of meetings reviewed by The New York Times.
Just months after helping to organize the trip, the lobbyist, Richard Smotkin, was hired by the government of Morocco as a $40,000-a-month foreign agent, according to filings with the Department of Justice. Mr. Smotkin participated in several meetings with Mr. Pruitt in Morocco, including with representatives from some industries, according to participants on the trip.
Mr. Smotkin had worked as a lobbyist for Comcast when he first came to know Mr. Pruitt in Oklahoma, where Mr. Pruitt served as attorney general before joining the Trump administration.
Mr. Pruitt is facing at least 11 investigations examining his first-class travel, pay raises given to his staff, money spent on security and office furnishings, and frequent trips he took to his home in Oklahoma after he was confirmed, at taxpayer expense.
Members of Congress had questioned whether there was a legitimate government reason for Mr. Pruitt to travel to Morocco and also questioned the cost of the trip. Moreover, the swiftness with which Mr. Smotkin then received the Morocco contract raises questions about whether the trip helped Mr. Smotkin secure the deal.
“It makes it almost look like it was part of a business cultivation effort,” said Meredith McGehee, executive director of IssueOne, a nonprofit government ethics group.
We live in a time in which decent and otherwise sensible people are surrendering too easily to the hectoring of morons or extremists.
- Just Fred
- Duke of Cortona
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Re: Swamp Spreads to a Desert
“It makes it almost look like it was part of a business cultivation effort,” said Meredith McGehee
Gee, Meredith, do ya think? Isn't it obvious the head of the EPA here in the USA needs to visit Morocco to learn something about environmental protection?