Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt. Photo courtesy NewsOn6
As Oklahoma’s Attorney General, Scott Pruitt has spent his six years waging war against the EPA, which President-elect Donald Trump has selected him to lead.
Here are our stories on how he spent his time as attorney general and the days leading up to his confirmation hearing to be administrator of the EPA.
Highlights of Scott Pruitt’s EPA hearing: On Jan. 19, Attorney General Scott Pruitt had his Senate confirmation hearing. Pruitt is President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to head the Environmental Protection Agency. We compiled some highlights from social media.
AG rarely uses power to file discrimination cases: A 2011 law dissolved the Oklahoma Human Rights Commission and transferred its duties and $500,000 budget to Attorney General Scott Pruitt. Since then, he’s cut the staff in half and filed just three discrimination cases in court. His office also has not provided a report on racial profiling to the governor’s office, as required by state law.
‘We are doomed:’ Citizen EPA comments on Pruitt show depth of concern: Comments submitted to the EPA reveal deep concerns about how Attorney General Scott Pruitt would impact air, water and land if confirmed to lead the agency: “Our country cannot go back to a path of sacrificing our children and children’s futures.”
‘The general’ sided with energy industry in war with the EPA: Attorney General Scott Pruitt was favored by industry as “the general” who would lead a group of Republican attorneys general into battle over EPA regulations.
Energy companies joined Pruitt EPA suits while donating to campaign: A study by the Environmental Defense Fund reviewed state and federal campaign contribution records for Pruitt’s campaign and political action committees associated with him. It found in 13 out of 14 lawsuits Pruitt brought against the EPA, companies suing along with him had donated to his campaign or to PACs that support Pruitt.
Frontier exclusive: Pruitt failed to follow law on reporting outside attorney contracts: State law requires agencies to report annual spending on outside attorneys. However, Attorney General Scott Pruitt Office has omitted itself from those reports since 2012, an investigation by The Frontier has found.
SQ 777: ALEC inspired, right to farm or right to harm?: It all boils down to a phrase former Oklahoma Attorney General Drew Edmondson and others attribute to Oklahoma’s current attorney general, Scott Pruitt. According to several sources, Pruitt added a phrase — compelling state interest — to the original law inspired by ALEC, a national organization of businesses and conservative state legislators dedicated to crafting pro-business legislation.
State grants intended to target violent criminals swept up low-level offenders: Originally called the Justice Reinvestment Grant, the grants are awarded to local law enforcement agencies through Attorney General Scott Pruitt’s office with the goal of reducing violent crime and improving public safety. Many of those arrested were just the type of low-level offenders state lawmakers hoped to keep out of the state’s prisons
Does AG’s blunt language harm pot state question?: After state officials announced this week that a petition to legalize medical marijuana in Oklahoma had gained enough signatures, attention turned to Attorney General Scott Pruitt.
Governor’s attorney wanted wrong drug used in execution, knew it had been used before: After DOC revealed the drug mix-up shortly as Richard Glossip was headed to the execution chamber, Scott Pruitt sought a grand jury investigation to ensure that Oklahoma “can properly and lawfully administer the sentence of death.”
