Scott Pruitt lied—and leaked—in an effort to justify his first class flights and security costs

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2018/4/26/1760184/-Scott-Pruitt-lied-and-leaked-in-an-effort-to-justify-his-first-class-flights-and-security-costs
"In a pair of hearings, EPA chief Scott Pruitt has gotten the kid glove treatment from Republicans and some solid kicks from Democrats. Throughout the course of the day, Pruitt has contradicted his earlier statements. This includes admitting that he did know about requests for raises for his two Oklahoma friends (though he now claims he didn’t know the amount of those raises) and saying that what he previously characterized as a $43,000 SCIF (Secure Compartmentalized Information Facility) for receiving classified calls was not actually a SCIF, and blaming its purchase on “career individuals” at the EPA. But as Pruitt skated around questions on his lobbyist-provided townhouse in DC and his lobbyist-provided real estate flip back in Oklahoma, one topic that he kept pushing back on was his inordinate spending on security. Again and again through the first hearing, Pruitt defended his first class travel and $2 million a year personal security detail as required by an “extraordinary level” of threats. Threats far higher than those faced by previous cabinet officials. Though FOIA requests had failed to turn up this massive stack of threats, Pruitt claimed that this personal risk had been verified by a report from the Inspector General. In two separate hearings Thursday, Pruitt presented to lawmakers a “threat assessment” that he said came from Inspector General Arthur Elkins detailing various death threats against him. But at the start of the second hearing, Democratic Representative Betty McCollum asked Pruitt again about his first class flights, and when she got the same response as those who asked earlier, she was ready. McCollum: We reached out to the Inspector General’s office. We asked Inspector General Elgins if he made such comments. And he disputed your claim. Please explain yourself, administrator. Do you need to correct the record? In response, Pruitt held up a report he said “came from the Inspector General.” McCollum pressed and asked to see the paper, insisting that it be entered into the record."