QUESTIONS for Sarah Huckabee Sanders as the Right-wing Turns on Pruitt and New Report Shows Taxpayer-funded Staff & GOP Donors Got his Wife a Job

Given all of today’s new Scott Pruitt scandals (recapped below) it’s more important than ever that the White House and Sarah Huckabee Sanders answer the following questions:

• Amid the latest news that Scott Pruitt used his position to enrich himself and his family, conservative pundit Laura Ingraham is calling for him to be fired and a fossil-fuel-friendly group tied to the Koch Brothers is running TV ads demanding the same. Is President Trump tired of, or just plain embarrassed by, Pruitt’s constant scandals?

• How is keeping someone in the cabinet who is clearly and demonstrably abusing his position, the public’s trust, and the taxpayer dollar to help himself “draining the swamp”?

• You have said several times over the last few months that the White House as “looking into” Pruitt’s numerous corruption scandals. Who is doing this looking, what have you found, and when will you have an answer?
  
  

Right-wing pundit Laura Ingraham is demanding Scott Pruitt be fired just as an Iowa-based, Koch-connected, fossil fuel-friendly conservative group is running new TV ads carrying the same message as a new Washington Post report shows Scott Pruitt used taxpayer-funded EPA staff -- the Associate Administrator in the Office of Policy, no less -- to reach out to GOP donors, right-wing political organizations, and people with business before the EPA to score a job for his wife.

The Post reports that Pruitt had taxpayer-funded senior aide Samantha Dravis reach out to top Trump Donor - and oil and gas investor - Dan Deason in search of employment for Marlyn Pruitt. When Deason declined citing conflicts of interest that Pruitt and his staff apparently ignored, Pruitt continued to seek his help to find Marlyn Pruitt a job, with her ultimately getting work with the Judicial Crisis Network, a far-right group that has given millions of dollars to organizations associated with Pruitt. Meanwhile Dravis reportedly felt pressured by Pruitt to do this work on the clock, essentially acting as a highly-paid  government-provided headhunter for Pruitt’s spouse.

Even in a scandal-ridden month, within a scandalous year, for the most scandal-plagued EPA Administrator, this is just the latest - and perhaps most egregious - example of Pruitt abusing his position and taxpayer resources to enrich himself and his family. Lets review:

• Pruitt used taxpayer-funded staff to conduct his personal housing search, book his personal flights and even help furnish his apartment, going so far as to reach out to the DC Trump hotel to purchase a used mattress.

• The Washington Post reported that Pruitt’s taxpayer-funded staff tried to help him secure a Chick-fil-a franchise for his wife.

• Pruitt’s $3.5 million security detail, two times larger than any other security detail in EPA history, was reportedly used to shop for his favorite lotion and to pick up his dry cleaning according to the Washington Post --- which means taxpayers paid for security staff to run Pruitt’s errands.

• And, of course, who could forget Pruitt’s pricey travel habits (and an investigation that has been expanded multiple times), his $43,000 soundproof phone booth, and much more.

• Maybe that’s why several House Democrats are requesting that the Department of Justice investigate Pruitt for potentially criminal violations.
  
  

The Washington Post’s new reporting also pulls in several other characters from the extended Scott Pruitt scandal universe, making this one of the most ambitious crossover scandals in the long and growing world of Scott Pruitt scandals. There’s Dravis, who is under investigation for being a no-show employee. There is donor Deason, who handpicked some of Scott Pruitt’s science advisory board for him. There’s the Leonard Leo of The Federalist Society who didn’t just refer Marlyn Pruitt to the Judicial Crisis Network - he helped plan Pruitt’s taxpayer funded $100,000 trip to Italy where Pruitt had an opportunity to meet off the books with climate-denier / accused sex offender Cardinal Pell at one of the most luxurious and pricey rooftop dining spots in Rome.