Trump’s EPA chief Scott Pruitt caught living in prime DC condo owned by top energy lobbyist’s wife
President Donald Trump’s environmental chief has been living in a townhouse co-owned by the wife of a top energy lobbyist.
EPA administrator Scott Pruitt occupies the home a short distance from the U.S. Capitol, but neither the agency or lobbyist J. Steven Hart would say how much the Trump administration official has been paying to live in the prime location, reported ABC News.
The cost of the rental agreement will be a key question in determining whether the property is an improper gift, according to ethics experts.
Hart confirmed to ABC News that Pruitt lived in the condo, which is owned through a limited liability company that links to address owned by the lobbyist and his wife Vicki Hart — who is a lobbyist specializing in health care.
The Harts were described in 2010 by the newspaper Roll Call as a “lobbyist power couple.”
Steven Hart, chairman and CEO of Williams and Jensen, previously served in the Reagan Justice Department and is a top Republican fundraiser, and his firm reported more than $16 million in federal lobbying income last year.
“Among his many clients are the NRA and Cheniere Energy Inc., which reported paying Hart’s firm $80,000 a year,” ABC News reported.