Scott Pruitt Dings Taxpayers for a $25,000 Cone of Silence So He Can Keep His Phone Calls Secret

In a change from longstanding practice, he doesn’t post his appointment schedules. And, after scrutiny of his emails as attorney general of Oklahoma were pried loose by The New York Times and a lawsuit from the Center for Media and Democracy—exposing his close ties to energy companies in his efforts to smash regulations affecting them—Pruitt avoids email exchanges with EPA staffers, preferring face-to-face meetings and verbal instructions. Plausible deniability enabled.