EPA watchdog says Pruitt sought 24/7 protection from start
WASHINGTON (AP) — An internal watchdog at the Environmental Protection Agency said that Administrator Scott Pruitt demanded and received unprecedented, around-the-clock protection from armed officers on his first day — a detail that appears at odds with past claims that the stepped-up security measures came in direct response to death threats.
EPA Inspector General Arthur Elkins said in letters to Democratic senators that Pruitt himself initiated the 24-hour protection, which far exceeds the part-time security afforded to past EPA administrators.
Elkins' letter comes after Pruitt cited an August 2017 report by a staffer in the inspector general's office detailing more than a dozen investigations of threats against him and his Obama administration predecessor as justification for stepped-up security measures, which has included flying first class on commercial airliners.
Elkins said that 2017 summary was requested by Pruitt's office and was not intended to justify tighter security. Marked "For Official Use Only," the internal summary was then improperly made public, Elkins said.
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