Pruitt’s emails confirm worst fears: he’s in bed with polluters, fossil fuel industry

As a result of an Open Records Act request and lawsuit filed by the Center for Media and Democracy, the Oklahoma Attorney General’s office released a batch of more than 7,500 pages of emails and other records it withheld prior to Scott Pruitt’s nomination as EPA Administrator.

In response, Sierra Club Clean Air Policy Director Liz Perera released the following statement:

“Even a quick glance at these emails reveals Scott Pruitt is exactly who we thought he was: someone who is not just close to the fossil fuel industry, but dependent on it. This correspondence shows that Pruitt never spoke out to tell the oil and coal lobbyists who packed his inbox that what they were doing was harmful to his constituents. Instead, he let them tell him what to say, as they literally drafted anti-clean air talking points and letters for his office.

“Scott Pruitt knew just how disgraceful these emails would make him look, which is exactly why he kept them hidden from the Senate. His pro-polluter record makes it clear he should never have been confirmed to run the agency charged with keeping our air clean and our water safe to drink. We intend on continuing to fight him every step of the way to ensure that his plans to gut environmental protections do not come to pass.”