Energy and Environment Lobbyist tied to Pruitt's condo rental pushed for EPA to hire family friend
By Juliet Eilperin and Brady Dennis
June 24 at 5:18 PM
The lobbyist whose wife rented Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt a room in a Capitol Hill condo at a discounted rate lobbied Pruitt’s chief of staff to hire a family friend, according to recently released agency emails.
The exchange is among several previously undisclosed interactions that show how J. Steven Hart, who served as chairman of the law firm Williams & Jensen until earlier this year, sought to exert influence over decisions at the agency even as his spouse was renting Pruitt a $50-a-night room in an upscale condo blocks from the Capitol. The communications, released as part of a public records lawsuit filed by the Sierra Club, an environmental advocacy group, also appear to undermine initial arguments that Hart had not lobbied the EPA during Pruitt’s tenure.
The emails show that both Hart and his wife, Vicki — who rented Pruitt the condo under an agreement that he pay only for the nights that he stayed there — pushed for the EPA to hire Jimmy Guilliano, a recent college graduate ...
This spring, Hart said in interview with The Washington Post and other outlets that he did no EPA lobbying during 2017 or 2018. But his former firm amended his lobbying disclosure documents this month to reflect that he worked on behalf of Coca-Cola, the Financial Oversight and Management Control Board of Puerto Rico, and Smithfield Foods — contacts that are borne out in the newly released emails ...
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2018/06/24/lobbyist-tied-to-pruitts-condo-rental-pushed-for-epa-to-hire-family-friend-emails-show/
