at the l?nit?l Samba 211515 June 8, 2018 The Honorable Christopher A. Wray Director Federal Bureau of Investigation 935 Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20535 The Honorable John P. Cronan Acting Assistant Attorney General US. Department of Justice, Criminal Division 950 Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20530 Dear Director Wray and Acting Assistant Attorney General Cronan: We write you with grave concerns that Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Pruitt has used his public of?ce and of?cial, taxpayer-funded resources for the personal gain of himself and his family, in violation of federal law. This week?s revelation that Administrator Pruitt used his public of?ce including both his position and EPA staff to attempt to get his wife a Chick-?l-A franchise is the latest in a string of unethical spending and management decisions that have given rise to twelve federal investigations. Administrator Pruitt directly, and admittedly, used EPA resources to attempt to secure a job for his wife. E-mails released to the Sierra Club under Freedom of Information Act requests showed that Sydney Hupp, then a scheduler for Administrator Pruitt, contacted Chick-?l-A?s Chief Executive Of?cer Dan Cathy in May 2017 per Pruitt?s request to set up a meeting regarding a ?potential business opportunity.? When Pruitt spoke with Chick-?l-A, he revealed then that the ?business opportunity? was a request that his wife become a Chick-?l?A franchisee.l Eilperin, Dennis, and Dawsey, ?Scott Pruitt Enlisted an EPA Aide to Help His Wife Find a Job with Chick-?l- Washington Post, June 5, 2018, accessed here: 8/06/05/b79864e4-56gz-1 188-9663: il?ld?drt? 1] [1111? 106%ng PRINTED ON RECYCLED PAPER Following these reports, Administrator Pruitt seemingly con?rmed to a reporter that he had in fact used his of?ce to help his wife become a Chick-?l-A franchisee. When asked to explain the reports, Pruitt responded: my wife is an entrepreneur herself: I love, she loves, we love Chick-Fil-A as a, as a franchise of faith, and it's one of the best in the country, and so, that?s something we were very excited So, and we need more of them in Tulsa and we need more of them across the So anyway it?s an exciting time. ?2 Pruitt later made another attempt to secure his wife a job using his position at the EPA. Pruitt reportedly approached Matthew Swift, the chief executive of Concerdia, a New York nonpro?t. Swift later paid Marlyn Pruitt $2,000, plus travel expenses, to help with logistics for the group?s annual conference in September a conference at which Administrator Pruitt spoke. Further, Administrator Pruitt agreed to a meeting with Swift the week after the event in September, met with Swift again in February, and planned a number of other meetings?some disclosed, but a number of undisclosed meetings as well?stemming from the conference his wife organized for Concordia.3 It remains unclear whether the EPA under Administrator Pruitt has taken actions that might bene?t these organizations and companies since those meetings. April reports revealed that Administrator Pruitt had worked out a special deal on condominium rent with the wife of an industry lobbyist who represents companies regulated active contributor to his political career. Pruitt had been paying just $50/night for a Capitol Hill condominium, and only for the nights he used a bedroom in the townhouse, a sum well below the market value.4 Pruitt?s daughter also stayed in the townhouse in a separate room, at no added cost. Despite Pruitt?s testimony to the contrary before Congress, documents from the ?rm of Pruitt?s lobbyist-landlord showed that he lobbied the EPA several times on behalf of clients.5 Companies represented by the ?rm of Pruitt?s landlord also bene?tted from EPA decisions during Pruitt?s stay in the townhouse?the extent of which we still do not fully know.6 The townhouse is also a known GOP fundraiser site, and several fundraisers were held during the timeframe that Administrator Pruitt was staying there. Pruitt did not report the details of this concerning arrangement to ethics counsel at the EPA, nor to the public, beforehand. 3 According to the Sierra Club e-mails, Pruitt met with Nate Morris, CEO of Rubicon Global, 21 Georgia?based waste and recycling company, ?nancier T. Boone Pickens and Andrew Littlefair, co-founders of natural gas transportation company Clean Energy, and Concordia leadership council members George Logothetis, a Greek shipping magnate, among others. 4 Lipton, Eric, ?Pruitt Had a $50?a-Day Condo Linked to Lobbyists. Their Client?s Project Got Approved,? The New York Times, April 2, 2018, accessed here: 5 Biesecker, Michael, ?Lobbyist Tied To EPA Chief?s Condo Tried To In?uence Agency,? Associated Press, June 2, 2018, 5 Visser, Nick, Reportedly Approved Pipeline Project Linked to Lobbyist Renting Room to Pruitt,? The Huffington Post, April 3, 2018, accessed here: 53:30Tibbeel?h??lfy?glg??jjlc? At the very least, we know that federal ethics laws bar public of?cials from using their position or staff for private gain.7 Administrator Pruitt has certainly done just that. Further, his actions related to his wife?s employment and the quid-pro-quo condo situation with industry lobbyists may have crossed a line into criminal conduct punishable by ?nes or even by time in prison. We formally request that the FBI open an investigation into Administrator Scott Pruitt?s conduct to assess whether he broke the law, including criminal statutes prohibiting public corruption. Si ?rely, ?18 Dnald S. Beyer Jr. ?01.4; Jamie Raskin Ruben Gallego Pramila Jayapal Ted W. Lieu Cc: The Honorable AnnaLou Tirol, Acting Chief, Public Integrity Section, US. Department of Justice, Public Integrity Section, 950 Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20530 7 5 C.F.R. 2635.702 provides that ?An employee shall not use his public of?ce for his own private gain, for the endorsement of any product, service or enterprise, or for the private gain of friends, relatives, or persons with whom the employee is af?liated in a nongovernmental capacity, including nonpro?t organizations of which the employee is an of?cer or member, and persons with whom the employee has or seeks employment or business relations?. Accessed here: .ch