Following disgraced EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt’s resignation, Western Values Project – a Whitefish-based public lands watchdog group – released a side-by-side analysis of Pruitt’s and Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke’s numerous scandals.
“Now that there are consequences for unethical behavior in the Trump administration, Secretary Zinke should get serious about cleaning up his act,” said Western Values Project Executive Director Chris Saeger. “The simple fact is that when it comes to misusing and abusing their office for private gain, Pruitt and Zinke are birds of the same feather.”
In the fifteen months since Zinke took the helm of the Department of Interior, he has found himself mired in scandal after scandal. Just last month news broke that his family’s foundation is engaged in a sweetheart deal, giving away land that had been set aside for public use to a private developer funded by the chairman of Halliburton, for their own personal gain. The Department of Interior’s Inspector General quickly opened up another investigation into the issue.
Below please find an easy to use side-by-side detailing Zinke’s and Pruitt’s competing scandals:
| Scott Pruitt – EPA | Ryan Zinke – DOI | |
| 16 investigations opened |
INVESTIGATION COUNT |
10 investigations opened, with requests for at least another 4 pending |
| $25,000 phone booth |
LAVISH SPENDING ON TAXPAYERS’ DIME |
$139,000 doors |
| EPA Inspector General investigated abuse of military and private planes |
UNDER THE MICROSCOPE FOR BEING UP IN THE SKY |
Interior Inspector General inspected abuse of military and chartered planes |
| Flew home on taxpayers’ dime |
UNDER THE MICROSCOPE FOR BEING UP IN THE SKY … AGAIN |
Flies home on taxpayers’ dime |
| Took security on a trip to Italy (cost $120,000) |
SECURITY ON VACATION |
Took security on two-week trip to Greece and Turkey (cost unknown) |
| Gave raises “to two young aides he had brought with him to EPA from Oklahoma” |
ALL IN THE FAMILY: HIRING POLITICAL LACKEYS |
Hired high school football friend and old PAC manager who were otherwise unqualified |
| Attacked EPA for being a “bastion of liberalism.” |
ATTACKING FROM WITHIN |
Attacked DOI for staff not being “loyal to the flag,” calling them “serpents” |
| Rented a DC apartment for far below market value, and fell behind some of his rent payments |
OVERDUE RENT |
“Wrongfully abandoned” his D.C. house and stopped paying rent |
| Used a personal email to conduct official business. |
BUT HIS EMAILS… |
Appears to use personal email to conduct official business. (Pending investigation) |
| Reassigned or demoted employees who challenged his exorbitant spending habits |
DIDN’T SIGN UP FOR THIS |
Zinke’s top advance staffer left after complaining about having to do additional work to accommodate Zinke’s wife’s demands |
| Flew first class to avoid talking with Americans |
EXTRA LEG ROOM |
Used wildfire funds to charter helicopter tour and took another helicopter to ride a horse with Mike Pence |
| Tried to get his wife a job at Chick-fil-A |
LEADING LADIES |
Lola Zinke plays a “key role in arranging aspects of her husband’s official events” at Interior |
| Facing allegations that he removed meetings with industry representatives from his calendar |
CALENDAR? WHAT CALENDAR? |
Redacted calendar to hide a meeting with developers who he was engaged in a sweetheart land deal with |
Citations:
Investigation Count: [ Glenn Fleishman, “How Scott Pruitt Blew It: A List of Scandals That Led to the EPA Chief’s Resignation,” Fortune, 07/05/18; Greg Zimmerman, “Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke’s conduct attracts unprecedented scrutiny from government investigators,” Center for Western Priorities, 06/01/18 . Pending use of private email investigation.]
Lavish Spending on Taxpayers’ Dime: [Brady Dennis, “EPA spending almost $25,000 to install a secure phone booth for Scott Pruitt,” Washington Post, 09/26/17; Michael Biesecker and Matthew Daly, “Interior spending $139K to fix doors in Sec. Zinke’s office,” Associated Press, 03/09/18]
Under Microscope for Being Up in the Sky and Under Microscope for Being Up in the Sky Again: Brady Dennis, “EPA inspector general now investigating Pruitt’s use of military, private flights,” Washington Post, 10/06/17; Lisa Freidman, “Scott Pruitt Spent Much of Early Months at E.P.A. Traveling Home, Report Says,” New York Times, 07/24/17; Emily Flitter and Valerie Volcovici, “EPA chief spent almost half of spring in home state of Oklahoma,” Reuters, 07/24/17]Julia Manchester, “Zinke used private, military planes for travel: report,” The Hill, 09/28/17; Drew Harwell and Lisa Rein, “Zinke took $12,000 charter flight home in oil executive’s plane, documents show,” Washington Post, 09/28/17; Celeste Katz, “Interior Department Tapped Wildfire Preparedness Funds for Ryan Zinke Helicopter Tour,” Newsweek, 12/29/17]
Security on Vacation: [“EPA head’s Italy work trip cost taxpayers $120,000,” CBS News, 03/20/18; Miranda Green and Timothy Cama, “Cost of Pruitt’s Italy trip rises above $84,000,” The Hill, 03/20/18; Ben Lefebvre, “Zinke brought security team to vacation in Turkey and Greece, records show,” Politico, 03/21/18]
All in the Family: [Zeke Miller and Michael Biesecker, “EPA chief draws Trump praise – and ire,” ABC News, 04/03/18; Profile for Vincent DeVito, Department of Influence, accessed 04/06/18; Profile for Steve Howke, Department of Influence, accessed 04/06/18]
Attacking From Within: [Ben Wolfgang, “EPA’s Scott Pruitt says progress on Trump agenda at ‘bastion of liberalism’ behind attacks,” Washington Times, 04/04/18; Matthew Daly, “Zinke: One-third of Interior employees not loyal to Trump,” Associated Press, 09/26/17; Corbin Hiar, “Zinke wants to outsource park services, fire ‘serpents,’” E&E, 06/06/17]
OverDue Rent: [Eliana Johnson and Andrew Restuccia, “Pruitt fell behind on payments for his $50-a-night condo rental,” Politico, 04/05/18; Chris D’Angelo, “Ryan Zinke Settles Lawsuit Over ‘Uninhabitable’ $5,800-A-Month Rental House,” Huffington Post, 08/09/17]
But His Emails… [Timothy Cama, “EPA head previously used private email for government business,” The Hill, 02/24/17; Aaron Weiss, “Documents reveal Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke uses a private email address for official business,” Center for Western Priorities, 03/15/18]
Didn’t Sign Up for This: [Eric Lipton, Kenneth Vogel and Lisa Friedman, “E.P.A. Officials Sidelined After Questioning Scott Pruitt,” New York Times, 04/05/18; Ben Lefebvre, “‘UGH!’: Zinke’s wife’s travel caused headaches for Interior staff,” Politico, 11/20/17; Ben Lefebvre, “Sources: Interior parts ways with advance staffer,” Politico Pro, 01/30/18]
Extra Leg Room: [Umair Irfan, “EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt flies first class to avoid unpleasant travelers,” Vox, 02/15/18; Harriet Sinclair, “ZINKE SO EXCITED TO HORSEBACK RIDE WITH PENCE, HE TOOK A $6,250 HELICOPTER RIDE TO GET THERE,” Newsweek, 12/7/17; Celeste Katz, “Interior Department Tapped Wildfire Preparedness Funds for Ryan Zinke Helicopter Tour,” Newsweek, 12/29/17]
Leading Ladies: [Lisa Friedman, “Scott Pruitt Sought ‘Business Opportunity’ With Chick-fil-A While Leading E.P.A.,” New York Times, 06/05/18; Juliet Eilperin, “Ryan Zinke’s wife played a key role in his official event and travel planning, newly released records show,” Washington Post, 11/20/17]
Calendar? What Calendar?: [Curt Devine, Scott Bronstein, and Drew Griffin, “Two Democratic congressmen call for IG probe of Pruitt’s secret calendar after CNN report,” CNN, 07/05/18; Ben LeFebvre and Nick Juliano, “Zinke’s Halliburton mess deepens,” Politico, 06/21/18]