EPA Chief Pruitt Met With Lobbyist Tied to Condo Rental
- New disclosure shows Hart’s firm lobbied agency for Smithfield
- Hart was asked to come along to meeting with EPA’s chief
White House To Investigate Pruitt's Spending
This article is for subscribers only.
The lobbyist whose wife rented a bedroom in a Capitol Hill condo to EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt says he met with Pruitt last July with the charitable arm of pork processor Smithfield Foods Inc., despite earlier saying he hadn’t lobbied the agency on behalf of clients in the past year.
Revelations that J. Steven Hart was present at a meeting with Pruitt in an official capacity at least once in 2017 -- and had a lobbying contact with the Environmental Protection Agency this year -- coincided with Hart’s departure on Friday as chairman of the law and lobbying firm Williams & Jensen. Hart had previously said he didn’t lobby the EPA this year or last.