Adam Beitman, adam.beitman@sierraclub.org or 202-670-5585
A series of tweets between the Sierra Club and C. Renzi Stone, the subject of significant Pruitt related reporting this morning in the Washington Post and elsewhere, provide confirmation that not only did the Fossil Fuel industry PR Executive assist Pruitt in securing pricey football tickets -- he did so after he was contacted by a taxpayer-funded EPA staffer.
Renzi also confirmed in a Twitter response to the Sierra Club that the American Petroleum Institute, the oil industry’s lobbying group, was a client of his, exposing significant conflicts of interests between him and Scott Pruitt in his position at EPA administrator.
BACKGROUND:
The Washington Post and others reported this morning on a letter from House Oversight Committee Ranking Member Elijah Cummings’ in which the Congressman requests documents from a Pruitt-connected PR executive and University of Oklahoma Regent, Renzi Stone, regarding Rose Bowl Tickets provided to Pruitt at well below market rate just days before the game.
According to reporting in the Post and the New York Times, taxpayer-funded federal government staffers reached out to Renzi to secure the tickets and booked Pruitt’s travel to the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif., where Mr. Pruitt had secured seats near the 50-yard line. The tickets, purchased five days before the sold-out New Year’s Day game this year, were secured through a special allotment for the University of Oklahoma, all while tickets for equivalent seats were on sale on the secondary market for as much as seven times the price paid by Mr. Pruitt, according to the Times.
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About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with more than 3 million members and supporters. In addition to helping people from all backgrounds explore nature and our outdoor heritage, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.