WASHINGTON _ Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt obtained tickets to the Rose Bowl with the help of a firm that does public affairs and communications work for energy companies _ and a top congressional Democrat wants to know the details.
Rep. Elijah Cummings, ranking member of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, sent a letter to Renzi Stone, founder of public relations firm Saxum, asking for documents on how he helped Pruitt obtain the tickets. The company represents Plains All American Pipeline LP, which has a petition pending before the EPA to discharge hydrostatic test water from a pipeline in Corpus Christi, Texas, Cummings said.
Saxum, based in Oklahoma City, touts "a large, diversified energy practice," aimed at helping support the marketing communications, public relations and public affairs needs of a wide range of energy companies. It appears not to have registered lobbyists working in Washington or Oklahoma either, based on a Bloomberg review of disclosures and the firm's principals.
Millan Hupp, Pruitt's former director of scheduling and advance, in May told Cummings's committee that Stone provided Pruitt with Rose Bowl tickets for him and his family, according to a statement from Cummings. In addition to his work at Saxum, Stone also serves on the University of Oklahoma Board of regents, the lawmaker said.
"Federal ethics rules prohibit government employees from accepting gifts, such as tickets to sporting events, unless they pay 'market value,"' Cummings wrote. "Moreover, a government employee may not accept a gift provided 'because of the employee's official position.'"
Pruitt has become a lightning rod of controversy, after news organizations published stories that he enlisted aides on multiple occasions to help his wife secure a Chick-fil-A Inc. franchise. He's also drawn scrutiny for his use of first-class air travel, a $50-a-night condo rental from a lobbyist and round-the-clock security detail.
