Sen. Tom Udall, D-N.M., on Monday accused the Environmental Protection Agency of "stonewalling" the Government Accountability's Office investigation into reports Scott Pruitt purchased a $43,000 soundproof phone booth for his office.
"I am alarmed that the EPA has failed — for nearly three months — to cooperate with GAO's requests," Udall wrote in a letter to the EPA.
"The American people deserve an open and transparent budget process," he added. "Given your role as a public servant and trustee of taxpayer funds, it is your fundamental responsibility to fully cooperate with GAO."
Udall, the top Democrat overseeing the EPA's funding, said Pruitt's purchase may have violated the law as the administration isn't allowed to spend more than $5,000 to furnish, redecorate, or make improvements to the office of a presidential appointee without first notifying the House and Senate Appropriations Committee.
Udall asked the GAO for its legal opinion about whether the construction of the phone booth was a violation of federal law, and the GAO sent a request to the EPA in late December of last year asking for more information.
"I am concerned that the agency may be misleading the committee and the public about the function of the privacy booth while also inappropriately classifying the expense as related to national security in order to avoid proper notification under section 710," Pruitt wrote.
The EPA in an email to Newsmax said it disputed Udall's charges.
"We are responding through the proper channels which presently include EPA’s Office of General Counsel answering questions from the Government Accountability Office," said EPA spokesman Jahan Wilcox.
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