note memo document
aha 1119 ~ transparency, checks and balances<div>
</div><div>see stonewall obstruct</div><div>
</div><div>=</div><div>mafia and cheney religious about no notes</div><div>
</div><div>=</div><div>
</div><div><div style="font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">politico</font></div><div style="font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2019/11/14/epa-jackson-watchdog-070993" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000">https://www.politico.com/news/2019/11/14/epa-jackson-watchdog-070993</font></a></div><div style="font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div style="font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><section class="page-contentrow page-contentrow--story" helvetica="Helvetica" neue="Neue" arial="Arial" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; position: relative; z-index: 2; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 84.375rem; border: 0px; padding: 1.875rem 1.875rem 0px;"><div class="container container--story story-layout--fluid-fixed" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: flex; border: 0px; -webkit-box-orient: horizontal; -webkit-box-direction: normal; flex-direction: row;"><div class="containercolumn containercolumn--story summary-middle" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: flex; -webkit-box-orient: vertical; -webkit-box-direction: normal; flex-direction: column; width: 960px; border: 0px; min-width: 0px; -webkit-box-flex: 1; flex: 1 1 0%;"><div class="containerrow containerrow--story story-layout--fixed-fluid" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: flex; -webkit-box-orient: horizontal; -webkit-box-direction: normal; flex-direction: row; border: 0px; -webkit-box-flex: 1; flex: 1 1 0%; margin-top: 0.625rem;"><div class="containercolumn containercolumn--story center-horizontally" style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-box-orient: vertical; -webkit-box-direction: normal; flex-direction: column; width: 630px; border: 0px; min-width: 0px; margin-top: 0px; -webkit-box-flex: 1; flex: 1 1 0%; margin-left: 1.875rem;"><div class="story-text" style="box-sizing: border-box; max-width: 39.375rem; margin: 0px auto;"><p class=" story-textparagraph" times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" serif="serif" color="color" rgb="rgb" font-size="font-size" rem="rem" line-height="line-height" style="margin: 0px 0px 1.875rem; box-sizing: border-box;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">An escalating fight between the Environmental Protection Agency's top political aide and its <span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;">internal watchdog has forced a behind-the-scenes Washington operator into the spotlight.</span></font></p><p class=" story-textparagraph" times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" serif="serif" color="color" rgb="rgb" font-size="font-size" rem="rem" line-height="line-height" style="margin: 0px 0px 1.875rem; box-sizing: border-box;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Ryan Jackson, a native Oklahoman who worked for Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) for more than a decade and a half, has maintained a relatively low profile since becoming EPA's chief of staff in the early days of the Trump administration. He weathered the headline-grabbing scandals that brought down former Administrator Scott Pruitt and helped transition Pruitt's replacement, Andrew Wheeler, into the job.</font></p><aside class="story-enhancement" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1.875rem;"><p class="story-continued" style="margin: 0px auto 1.25rem; box-sizing: border-box; text-align: center; padding-bottom: 0.625rem; font-style: italic; position: absolute; left: -999em; top: -999em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Story Continued Below</font></p></aside><p class=" story-textparagraph" times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" serif="serif" color="color" rgb="rgb" font-size="font-size" rem="rem" line-height="line-height" style="margin: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Now Jackson finds himself facing off with EPA's acting inspector general, who took the rare step last week of publicly accusing Jackson of stonewalling investigations into allegations made against him.</font></p></div></div></div></div><div class="containercolumn containercolumn--story hide-under-small" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: flex; -webkit-box-orient: vertical; -webkit-box-direction: normal; flex-direction: column; width: 18.75rem; border: 0px; min-width: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-left: 1.875rem;"><aside class="story-enhancement" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><p class="story-continued" style="margin: 0px auto 1.25rem; box-sizing: border-box; text-align: center; padding-bottom: 0.625rem; font-style: italic; position: absolute; left: -999em; top: -999em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Story Continued Below</font></p></aside></div></div></section><section class="page-contentrow page-contentrow--story main-section" data-content-section="5" helvetica="Helvetica" neue="Neue" arial="Arial" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; position: relative; z-index: 2; margin: 1.875rem auto 0px; max-width: 84.375rem; border: 0px; padding: 0px 1.875rem;"><div class="container container--story story-layout--fixed-fluid" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: flex; border: 0px; -webkit-box-orient: horizontal; -webkit-box-direction: normal; flex-direction: row;"><div class="containercolumn containercolumn--story center-horizontally hide-under-medium" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: flex; -webkit-box-orient: vertical; -webkit-box-direction: normal; flex-direction: column; width: 18.75rem; border: 0px; min-width: 0px;"><div class="containercolumn containercolumn--story" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: flex; -webkit-box-orient: vertical; -webkit-box-direction: normal; flex-direction: column; width: 960px; border: 0px; min-width: 0px; margin-top: 0px; -webkit-box-flex: 1; flex: 1 1 0%; margin-left: 1.875rem;"><div class="containerrow containerrow--story story-layout--fluid-fixed" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: flex; -webkit-box-orient: horizontal; -webkit-box-direction: normal; flex-direction: row; -webkit-box-flex: 1; flex: 1 1 0%;"><div class="containercolumn containercolumn--story center-horizontally" style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-box-orient: vertical; -webkit-box-direction: normal; flex-direction: column; width: 630px; border: 0px; min-width: 0px; -webkit-box-flex: 1; flex: 1 1 0%;"><div class="story-text" style="box-sizing: border-box; max-width: 39.375rem; margin: 0px auto;"><p class=" story-textparagraph" data-content-child-index="0-0" times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" serif="serif" color="color" rgb="rgb" font-size="font-size" rem="rem" line-height="line-height" style="margin: 0px 0px 1.875rem; box-sizing: border-box;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Jackson has not yet agreed to an interview with the inspector general's office, which is investigating numerous allegations against the chief of staff, including that he attempted to pressure an independent scientist to change her testimony to Congress and that he <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2019/11/07/epa-ryan-jackson-documents-investigation-067566" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; transition: all 0.25s ease 0s; background-color: transparent; touch-action: manipulation;">oversaw destruction of documents</a> related to probes of Pruitt's travel and other matters.</font></p><p class=" story-textparagraph" data-content-child-index="0-1" times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" serif="serif" color="color" rgb="rgb" font-size="font-size" rem="rem" line-height="line-height" style="margin: 0px 0px 1.875rem; box-sizing: border-box;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">EPA has defended Jackson and accused the inspector general's office of overstepping its authority. The agency declined to make Jackson available for an interview.</font></p><p class=" story-textparagraph" data-content-child-index="0-2" times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" serif="serif" color="color" rgb="rgb" font-size="font-size" rem="rem" line-height="line-height" style="margin: 0px 0px 1.875rem; box-sizing: border-box;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The episode represents the latest run-in between the Trump administration's political appointees and the inspectors general who are meant to serve as a check on waste, fraud and abuse. And it shows that the EPA is still dealing with the aftereffects of Pruitt's tenure, nearly 18 months after he stepped down amid a series of investigations into his dealings with lobbyists and his personal use of agency resources.</font></p><p class=" story-textparagraph" data-content-child-index="0-3" times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" serif="serif" color="color" rgb="rgb" font-size="font-size" rem="rem" line-height="line-height" style="margin: 0px 0px 1.875rem; box-sizing: border-box;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">It also illustrates that Jackson doesn’t necessarily care about being seen as playing nice with the IG's office, said one former top EPA official who requested anonymity to speak candidly.</font></p><p class=" story-textparagraph" data-content-child-index="0-4" times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" serif="serif" color="color" rgb="rgb" font-size="font-size" rem="rem" line-height="line-height" style="margin: 0px 0px 1.875rem; box-sizing: border-box;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"He doesn’t worry about getting himself in the middle of a fight like this,” the former official said. “Other chiefs of staff would be mortified, terrified of this happening around and about them. He’s not as worried about that as other people."</font></p><p class=" story-textparagraph" data-content-child-index="0-5" times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" serif="serif" color="color" rgb="rgb" font-size="font-size" rem="rem" line-height="line-height" style="margin: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">But Jackson's alleged behavior has come as a surprise even to some Democrats who respected him when he worked for Inhofe.</font></p></div></div><div class="containercolumn containercolumn--story center-vertically right-zone hide-under-small" aria-hidden="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: flex; -webkit-box-orient: vertical; -webkit-box-direction: normal; flex-direction: column; width: 18.75rem; border: 0px; min-width: 0px; -webkit-box-pack: center; justify-content: center; margin-top: 0px; margin-left: 1.875rem;"><div class="story-enhancement" id="aside-0" data-aside-index="0" style="box-sizing: border-box;" /></div></div></div></div></div></section><section class="page-contentrow page-contentrow--story" data-ad-section="5" helvetica="Helvetica" neue="Neue" arial="Arial" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; position: relative; z-index: 2; margin: 1.875rem auto 0px; max-width: 84.375rem; border: 0px; padding: 0px 1.875rem;"><aside class="story-enhancement" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><p class="story-continued" style="margin: 0px auto 1.25rem; box-sizing: border-box; text-align: center; padding-bottom: 0.625rem; font-style: italic; position: absolute; left: -999em; top: -999em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Story Continued Below</font></p></aside></section><section class="page-contentrow page-contentrow--story main-section" data-content-section="17" helvetica="Helvetica" neue="Neue" arial="Arial" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; position: relative; z-index: 2; margin: 1.875rem auto 0px; max-width: 84.375rem; border: 0px; padding: 0px 1.875rem;"><div class="container container--story story-layout--fixed-fluid" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: flex; border: 0px; -webkit-box-orient: horizontal; -webkit-box-direction: normal; flex-direction: row;"><div class="containercolumn containercolumn--story center-horizontally hide-under-medium" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: flex; -webkit-box-orient: vertical; -webkit-box-direction: normal; flex-direction: column; width: 18.75rem; border: 0px; min-width: 0px;"><div class="containercolumn containercolumn--story" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: flex; -webkit-box-orient: vertical; -webkit-box-direction: normal; flex-direction: column; width: 960px; border: 0px; min-width: 0px; margin-top: 0px; -webkit-box-flex: 1; flex: 1 1 0%; margin-left: 1.875rem;"><div class="containerrow containerrow--story story-layout--fluid-fixed" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: flex; -webkit-box-orient: horizontal; -webkit-box-direction: normal; flex-direction: row; -webkit-box-flex: 1; flex: 1 1 0%;"><div class="containercolumn containercolumn--story center-horizontally" style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-box-orient: vertical; -webkit-box-direction: normal; flex-direction: column; width: 630px; border: 0px; min-width: 0px; -webkit-box-flex: 1; flex: 1 1 0%;"><div class="story-text" style="box-sizing: border-box; max-width: 39.375rem; margin: 0px auto;"><p class=" story-textparagraph" data-content-child-index="0-0" times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" serif="serif" color="color" rgb="rgb" font-size="font-size" rem="rem" line-height="line-height" style="margin: 0px 0px 1.875rem; box-sizing: border-box;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Sen<span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">. Tom Udall (D-N.M.), whose staff worked closely with Jackson and other Inhofe staff on the 2016 overhaul of the Toxic Substances Control Act, said his staff “really enjoyed working” with Jackson but added it’s “very important” he cooperate in the IG investigation.</span></font></p><p class=" story-textparagraph" data-content-child-index="0-1" times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" serif="serif" color="color" rgb="rgb" font-size="font-size" rem="rem" line-height="line-height" style="margin: 0px 0px 1.875rem; box-sizing: border-box;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“The staff in that whole TSCA thing just worked really well together and he was one of the key players in that,” Udall told POLITICO. “I’m surprised that he’s not cooperating. He always seemed like a pretty straightforward guy.”</font></p><p class=" story-textparagraph" data-content-child-index="0-2" times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" serif="serif" color="color" rgb="rgb" font-size="font-size" rem="rem" line-height="line-height" style="margin: 0px 0px 1.875rem; box-sizing: border-box;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Jackson and Wheeler are among the approximately half a dozen former Inhofe aides — known loosely by some in Washington as the "Inhofe mafia" — that came to EPA during the Trump administration.</font></p><p class=" story-textparagraph" data-content-child-index="0-3" times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" serif="serif" color="color" rgb="rgb" font-size="font-size" rem="rem" line-height="line-height" style="margin: 0px 0px 1.875rem; box-sizing: border-box;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">But as the inspector general’s inquiries into Pruitt piled up — first class flights, 24/7 bodyguards, big raises for his aides and allegations that Pruitt used his position to seek work for his wife — the tug of war between Jackson and EPA’s political leaders only intensified.</font></p><p class=" story-textparagraph" data-content-child-index="0-4" times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" serif="serif" color="color" rgb="rgb" font-size="font-size" rem="rem" line-height="line-height" style="margin: 0px 0px 1.875rem; box-sizing: border-box;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">A former official in the inspector general's office, who requested anonymity to discuss internal matters, told POLITICO that Jackson "views the political agenda as the primary guide" to running the agency, rather than "the law."</font></p><p class=" story-textparagraph" data-content-child-index="0-5" times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" serif="serif" color="color" rgb="rgb" font-size="font-size" rem="rem" line-height="line-height" style="margin: 0px 0px 1.875rem; box-sizing: border-box;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“It was an ongoing issue with Jackson about whether he would deign to cooperate with the IG,” the former official said.</font></p><p class=" story-textparagraph" data-content-child-index="0-6" times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" serif="serif" color="color" rgb="rgb" font-size="font-size" rem="rem" line-height="line-height" style="margin: 0px 0px 1.875rem; box-sizing: border-box;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Jackson would get involved with any request regarding Pruitt made by the inspector general's office to low-level bureaucrats who routinely handle such information sharing. "Jackson would interpose himself and tell those units, ‘Don’t give it to them.’ So we would have to fight that fight," the former official said.</font></p><p class=" story-textparagraph" data-content-child-index="0-7" times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" serif="serif" color="color" rgb="rgb" font-size="font-size" rem="rem" line-height="line-height" style="margin: 0px 0px 1.875rem; box-sizing: border-box;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In<span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"> one known example of that from fall 2017, Jackson delayed EPA’s finance office from handing over documents as part of an OIG <a href="https://subscriber.politicopro.com/article/2018/05/epa-watchdog-knocked-pruitt-aides-for-slowing-probe-524803" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; transition: all 0.25s ease 0s; touch-action: manipulation;">audit into Pruitt’s travel</a> back and forth to Oklahoma, as POLITICO reported last year. The matter was ultimately settled, but not before career officials had to set off alarm bells that Jackson and other political appointees were “close to impeding the audit.”</span></font></p><p class=" story-textparagraph" data-content-child-index="0-8" times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" serif="serif" color="color" rgb="rgb" font-size="font-size" rem="rem" line-height="line-height" style="margin: 0px 0px 1.875rem; box-sizing: border-box;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Tension between political appointees and agency watchdogs predates the Trump administration. For example, Obama administration officials spent years <a href="https://subscriber.politicopro.com/article/2015/11/epa-watchdog-says-access-to-homeland-security-docs-still-restricted-064279" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; transition: all 0.25s ease 0s; background-color: transparent; touch-action: manipulation;">fighting with the inspector general about access to documents</a> from EPA’s small homeland security office.</font></p><p class=" story-textparagraph" data-content-child-index="0-9" times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" serif="serif" color="color" rgb="rgb" font-size="font-size" rem="rem" line-height="line-height" style="margin: 0px 0px 1.875rem; box-sizing: border-box;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The<span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"> latest flap with Jackson reached a new pinnacle last week, when acting Inspector General Charles Sheehan took the virtually unprecedented step of sending Wheeler a "seven-day letter" detailing Jackson's refusal to cooperate with investigators. Federal law requires agency leaders to share such complaints with Congress, but sending a such a letter has been compared to the <a href="https://www.eenews.net/stories/1060006382" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; transition: all 0.25s ease 0s; touch-action: manipulation;">"nuclear" option of federal oversight</a></span>.</font></p><p class=" story-textparagraph" data-content-child-index="0-10" times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" serif="serif" color="color" rgb="rgb" font-size="font-size" rem="rem" line-height="line-height" style="margin: 0px 0px 1.875rem; box-sizing: border-box;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In response, Jackson and EPA’s other political leaders adopted some of the lessons from the president’s own oftentimes successful playbook — in particular, pushing back aggressively and making no apologies.</font></p><p class=" story-textparagraph" data-content-child-index="0-11" times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" serif="serif" color="color" rgb="rgb" font-size="font-size" rem="rem" line-height="line-height" style="margin: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Wheeler was legally required to inform Congress of the OIG’s complaint against Jackson, but EPA went much further in defending Jackson's behavior. Wheeler issued his own criticisms of the OIG’s treatment of Jackson. EPA’s top attorney issued a memo questioning the legitimacy of the OIG probe and investigators’ authority.</font></p></div></div><div class="containercolumn containercolumn--story center-vertically right-zone hide-under-small" aria-hidden="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: flex; -webkit-box-orient: vertical; -webkit-box-direction: normal; flex-direction: column; width: 18.75rem; border: 0px; min-width: 0px; -webkit-box-pack: center; justify-content: center; margin-top: 0px; margin-left: 1.875rem;"><aside class="story-enhancement" id="aside-1" data-aside-index="1" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><div class="collection" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px auto; border: 1px solid rgba(180, 180, 180, 0.35);"><div class="module" style="box-sizing: border-box; padding: 1.25rem;"><div class="modulerow" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.9375rem;"><ol class="media-item-list media-item-list--numbered" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; list-style: none none;"><li style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.9375rem; padding-top: 0.9375rem; border-top: 1px solid rgba(180, 180, 180, 0.35); counter-increment: story-count 1; position: relative; padding-left: 1.875rem;"><section class="media-item" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><div class="media-itemsummary size--small" style="box-sizing: border-box;" /></section></li></ol></div></div></div></aside></div></div></div></div></div></section><section class="page-contentrow page-contentrow--story" data-ad-section="17" helvetica="Helvetica" neue="Neue" arial="Arial" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; position: relative; z-index: 2; margin: 1.875rem auto 0px; max-width: 84.375rem; border: 0px; padding: 0px 1.875rem;"><aside class="story-enhancement" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><p class="story-continued" style="margin: 0px auto 1.25rem; box-sizing: border-box; text-align: center; padding-bottom: 0.625rem; font-style: italic; position: absolute; left: -999em; top: -999em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Story Continued Below</font></p></aside></section><section class="page-contentrow page-contentrow--story main-section" helvetica="Helvetica" neue="Neue" arial="Arial" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; position: relative; z-index: 2; margin: 1.875rem auto 0px; max-width: 84.375rem; border: 0px; padding: 0px 1.875rem;"><div class="container container--story story-layout--fixed-fluid" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: flex; border: 0px; -webkit-box-orient: horizontal; -webkit-box-direction: normal; flex-direction: row;"><div class="containercolumn containercolumn--story center-horizontally hide-under-medium" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: flex; -webkit-box-orient: vertical; -webkit-box-direction: normal; flex-direction: column; width: 18.75rem; border: 0px; min-width: 0px;"><div class="containercolumn containercolumn--story" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: flex; -webkit-box-orient: vertical; -webkit-box-direction: normal; flex-direction: column; width: 960px; border: 0px; min-width: 0px; margin-top: 0px; -webkit-box-flex: 1; flex: 1 1 0%; margin-left: 1.875rem;"><div class="containerrow containerrow--story story-layout--fluid-fixed" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: flex; -webkit-box-orient: horizontal; -webkit-box-direction: normal; flex-direction: row; -webkit-box-flex: 1; flex: 1 1 0%;"><div class="containercolumn containercolumn--story center-horizontally" style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-box-orient: vertical; -webkit-box-direction: normal; flex-direction: column; width: 630px; border: 0px; min-width: 0px; -webkit-box-flex: 1; flex: 1 1 0%;"><div class="story-text" style="box-sizing: border-box; max-width: 39.375rem; margin: 0px auto;"><p class=" story-textparagraph" times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" serif="serif" color="color" rgb="rgb" font-size="font-size" rem="rem" line-height="line-height" style="margin: 0px 0px 1.875rem; box-sizing: border-box;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Jackson always made himself available to the OIG in the many audits and investigations the watchdog carries out, said<span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"> Mandy Gunasekara, a former political official in EPA's air office who left EPA earlier this year to launch a pro-Trump advocacy group.</span></font></p><p class=" story-textparagraph" times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" serif="serif" color="color" rgb="rgb" font-size="font-size" rem="rem" line-height="line-height" style="margin: 0px 0px 1.875rem; box-sizing: border-box;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">But he can't dedicate too much time to dealing with the OIG, she said. "You have to pick and choose at some point throughout the day to make sure you don’t get caught up working on things that don’t divert away from achieving larger priorities and larger goals."</font></p><p class=" story-textparagraph" times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" serif="serif" color="color" rgb="rgb" font-size="font-size" rem="rem" line-height="line-height" style="margin: 0px 0px 1.875rem; box-sizing: border-box;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Inhofe, who employed Jackson as one of his senior-most aides for nearly two decades, called Jackson “very reliable” and somebody who had “never done anything in terms of lying or bad behavior,” but added it would be “characteristic” for him to not speak with the inspector general if he didn’t know what information they’re seeking.</font></p><p class=" story-textparagraph" times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" serif="serif" color="color" rgb="rgb" font-size="font-size" rem="rem" line-height="line-height" style="margin: 0px 0px 1.875rem; box-sizing: border-box;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“If [the inspector general’s] not going to tell him — there’s some big secret and he won’t say why he wants to talk to him — he doesn’t have to talk to him,” Inhofe said in an interview. “I’d immediately be suspicious if he said I want to talk to you but I’m not going to say what I want to talk to you about.”</font></p><p class=" story-textparagraph" times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" serif="serif" color="color" rgb="rgb" font-size="font-size" rem="rem" line-height="line-height" style="margin: 0px 0px 1.875rem; box-sizing: border-box;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.), ranking member of the Environment and Public Works Committee, said his staff did not want to be a mediator of the dispute but encouraged the inspector general’s office to ask questions “with enough specificity that whoever is being questioned knows what’s being asked and can be responsive” to those inquiries.</font></p><p class=" story-textparagraph" times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" serif="serif" color="color" rgb="rgb" font-size="font-size" rem="rem" line-height="line-height" style="margin: 0px 0px 1.875rem; box-sizing: border-box;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Those that have worked with Jackson previously said his lack of cooperation with the probe struck them as out of character.</font></p><p class=" story-textparagraph" times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" serif="serif" color="color" rgb="rgb" font-size="font-size" rem="rem" line-height="line-height" style="margin: 0px 0px 1.875rem; box-sizing: border-box;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“It’s certainly not how he operated on the Hill and I don’t imagine it’s how he would have operated in any other professional setting,” said a Senate Democratic aide who had previously worked with Jackson. “He finds workarounds to rules. He’s not somebody who just breaks rules.”</font></p><p class=" story-textparagraph" times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" serif="serif" color="color" rgb="rgb" font-size="font-size" rem="rem" line-height="line-height" style="margin: 0px 0px 1.875rem; box-sizing: border-box;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Jackson’s ties to Inhofe date back to 1994 when he took his first job in politics for the Oklahoma Republican’s successful bid for the U.S. Senate. After graduating from the University of Oklahoma in 1998 and law school in 2001, Jackson spent all but a couple of the following 16 years working in various senior roles for Inhofe.</font></p><p class=" story-textparagraph" times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" serif="serif" color="color" rgb="rgb" font-size="font-size" rem="rem" line-height="line-height" style="margin: 0px 0px 1.875rem; box-sizing: border-box;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Jackson has described his approach to governmental service as one rooted in avoiding drama.</font></p><p class=" story-textparagraph" times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" serif="serif" color="color" rgb="rgb" font-size="font-size" rem="rem" line-height="line-height" style="margin: 0px 0px 1.875rem; box-sizing: border-box;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“The vast majority of people I have had the opportunity to work with are not there to play gotcha or contribute to drama,” he <a href="https://www.politico.com/story/2018/12/19/playbook-birthday-ryan-jackson-1068729" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; transition: all 0.25s ease 0s; background-color: transparent; touch-action: manipulation;">told POLITICO in December 2018</a>. “It takes patience and sometimes quite a bit of patience, but it is still true that despite some amount of drama which happens throughout the day there is more time where a lot of people still simply want to contribute based on what they believe is the right thing to do.”</font></p><p class=" story-textparagraph" times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" serif="serif" color="color" rgb="rgb" font-size="font-size" rem="rem" line-height="line-height" style="margin: 0px 0px 1.875rem; box-sizing: border-box;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">D<span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">uring his time as Inhofe’s chief of staff, Jackson won bipartisan praise for his efforts to complete work on major transportation and water resources legislation, as well as a landmark chemical safety overhaul.</span></font></p><p class=" story-textparagraph" times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" serif="serif" color="color" rgb="rgb" font-size="font-size" rem="rem" line-height="line-height" style="margin: 0px 0px 1.875rem; box-sizing: border-box;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">At the same time, he was present for Inhofe’s most notorious stunts questioning the scientific consensus on climate change: the Oklahoma Republican’s snowball on the Senate floor, pressing the so-called Climategate scandal an</span>d publication of Inhofe’s 2012 book on climate change, titled “The Greatest Hoax.”</font></p><p class=" story-textparagraph" times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" serif="serif" color="color" rgb="rgb" font-size="font-size" rem="rem" line-height="line-height" style="margin: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Daniel Lippman contributed to this report.</font></span></p></div></div></div></div></div></div></section></div><div style="font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></div><div style="font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2019/11/07/epa-ryan-jackson-documents-investigation-067566" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000">https://www.politico.com/news/2019/11/07/epa-ryan-jackson-documents-investigation-067566</font></a></div><div style="font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div style="font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">the <span times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" serif="serif" font-size="font-size" rem="rem" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb">Environmental Protection Agency’s inspector general is investigating whether chief of staff Ryan Jackson was involved in destroying internal documents that should have been retained, according to two people familiar with the matter.</span></font></div><section class="page-contentrow page-contentrow--story" helvetica="Helvetica" neue="Neue" arial="Arial" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" style="font-size: small; background: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; position: relative; z-index: 2; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 84.375rem; border: 0px; padding: 1.875rem 1.875rem 0px;"><div class="container container--story story-layout--fluid-fixed" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: flex; border: 0px; -webkit-box-orient: horizontal; -webkit-box-direction: normal; flex-direction: row;"><div class="containercolumn containercolumn--story summary-middle" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: flex; -webkit-box-orient: vertical; -webkit-box-direction: normal; flex-direction: column; width: 960px; border: 0px; min-width: 0px; -webkit-box-flex: 1; flex: 1 1 0%;"><div class="containerrow containerrow--story story-layout--fixed-fluid" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: flex; -webkit-box-orient: horizontal; -webkit-box-direction: normal; flex-direction: row; border: 0px; -webkit-box-flex: 1; flex: 1 1 0%; margin-top: 0.625rem;"><div class="containercolumn containercolumn--story center-horizontally" style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-box-orient: vertical; -webkit-box-direction: normal; flex-direction: column; width: 630px; border: 0px; min-width: 0px; margin-top: 0px; -webkit-box-flex: 1; flex: 1 1 0%; margin-left: 1.875rem;"><div class="story-text" style="box-sizing: border-box; max-width: 39.375rem; margin: 0px auto;"><p class=" story-textparagraph" times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" serif="serif" color="color" rgb="rgb" font-size="font-size" rem="rem" line-height="line-height" style="margin: 0px 0px 1.875rem; box-sizing: border-box;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The<span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"> IG's office is asking witnesses whether Jackson has routinely destroyed politically sensitive </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">documents, including schedules and letters from people like lobbyist Richard Smotkin, who <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/lobbyist-helped-broker-pruitts-100000-trip-to-morocco/2018/05/01/b2e20ee0-4d76-11e8-b725-92c89fe3ca4c_story.html" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-auth="NotApplicable" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; transition: all 0.25s ease 0s; touch-action: manipulation; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;">helped arrange</a> a trip for then-EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt to Morocco when he was in office, according to one of the sources,</span> a former administration official who told investigators <span style="box-sizing: border-box;">he has seen Jackson do that firsthand.</span></span></font></p><aside class="story-enhancement" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1.875rem;"><p class="story-continued" style="margin: 0px auto 1.25rem; box-sizing: border-box; text-align: center; padding-bottom: 0.625rem; font-style: italic; position: absolute; left: -999em; top: -999em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Story Continued Below</font></p></aside><p class=" story-textparagraph" times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" serif="serif" color="color" rgb="rgb" font-size="font-size" rem="rem" line-height="line-height" style="margin: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The previously unreported allegations add to the controversy around Jackson, a former aide to Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) who has been at EPA since the early days of the Trump administration.<b> EPA's internal watchdog accused Jackson earlier this week of refusing to cooperate with other ongoing investigation</b>s.</font></p></div></div></div></div><div class="containercolumn containercolumn--story hide-under-small" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: flex; -webkit-box-orient: vertical; -webkit-box-direction: normal; flex-direction: column; width: 18.75rem; border: 0px; min-width: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-left: 1.875rem;"><aside class="story-enhancement" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><p class="story-continued" style="margin: 0px auto 1.25rem; box-sizing: border-box; text-align: center; padding-bottom: 0.625rem; font-style: italic; position: absolute; left: -999em; top: -999em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Story Continued Below</font></p></aside></div></div></section><section class="page-contentrow page-contentrow--story main-section" data-content-section="6" helvetica="Helvetica" neue="Neue" arial="Arial" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" style="font-size: small; background: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; position: relative; z-index: 2; margin: 1.875rem auto 0px; max-width: 84.375rem; border: 0px; padding: 0px 1.875rem;"><div class="container container--story story-layout--fixed-fluid" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: flex; border: 0px; -webkit-box-orient: horizontal; -webkit-box-direction: normal; flex-direction: row;"><div class="containercolumn containercolumn--story center-horizontally hide-under-medium" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: flex; -webkit-box-orient: vertical; -webkit-box-direction: normal; flex-direction: column; width: 18.75rem; border: 0px; min-width: 0px;"><div class="containercolumn containercolumn--story" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: flex; -webkit-box-orient: vertical; -webkit-box-direction: normal; flex-direction: column; width: 960px; border: 0px; min-width: 0px; margin-top: 0px; -webkit-box-flex: 1; flex: 1 1 0%; margin-left: 1.875rem;"><div class="containerrow containerrow--story story-layout--fluid-fixed" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: flex; -webkit-box-orient: horizontal; -webkit-box-direction: normal; flex-direction: row; -webkit-box-flex: 1; flex: 1 1 0%;"><div class="containercolumn containercolumn--story center-horizontally" style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-box-orient: vertical; -webkit-box-direction: normal; flex-direction: column; width: 630px; border: 0px; min-width: 0px; -webkit-box-flex: 1; flex: 1 1 0%;"><div class="story-text" style="box-sizing: border-box; max-width: 39.375rem; margin: 0px auto;"><p class=" story-textparagraph" data-content-child-index="0-0" times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" serif="serif" color="color" rgb="rgb" font-size="font-size" rem="rem" line-height="line-height" style="margin: 0px 0px 1.875rem; box-sizing: border-box;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Jackson was<span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"> put on notice that the document destruction was improper, something the former official said he discussed earlier this year with an official from the IG’s office.</span></font></p><p class=" story-textparagraph" data-content-child-index="0-1" times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" serif="serif" color="color" rgb="rgb" font-size="font-size" rem="rem" line-height="line-height" style="margin: 0px 0px 1.875rem; box-sizing: border-box;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">“They would scold us on a daily basis and Ryan would say, ‘Oh, I didn’t know, we’ll do better next time,’" <span style="box-sizing: border-box;">the former official said</span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">.</span></font></p><p class=" story-textparagraph" data-content-child-index="0-2" times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" serif="serif" color="color" rgb="rgb" font-size="font-size" rem="rem" line-height="line-height" style="margin: 0px 0px 1.875rem; box-sizing: border-box;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Jackson told POLITICO he was “unaware” of the IG investigating him for destroying documents. He didn't respond to a further request for comment.</font></p><p class=" story-textparagraph" data-content-child-index="0-3" times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" serif="serif" color="color" rgb="rgb" font-size="font-size" rem="rem" line-height="line-height" style="margin: 0px 0px 1.875rem; box-sizing: border-box;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Michael Abboud, an EPA spokesperson, disputed the allegations, noting that a previous investigation had not found evidence of illegal document destruction at the agency.</font></p><p class=" story-textparagraph" data-content-child-index="0-4" times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" serif="serif" color="color" rgb="rgb" font-size="font-size" rem="rem" line-height="line-height" style="margin: 0px 0px 1.875rem; box-sizing: border-box;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“Even the National Archives have publicly stated these claims are ‘unsubstantiated,'" Abboud said in a statement. <span style="box-sizing: border-box;">"Politico choosing to run this story on the baseless claims of one disgruntled former employee does not make it true. EPA takes record retention seriously and trains all employees (career and political) on proper protocols and will continue to follow them.”</span></font></p><p class=" story-textparagraph" data-content-child-index="0-5" times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" serif="serif" color="color" rgb="rgb" font-size="font-size" rem="rem" line-height="line-height" style="margin: 0px 0px 1.875rem; box-sizing: border-box;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The interest in whether Jackson destroyed records may indicate renewed interest in a<span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">llegations that Pruitt kept a "secret calendar" to hide controversial meetings </span>with Republican donors or industry officials. In July 2018, <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2018/07/02/politics/scott-pruitt-whistleblower-secret-calendar/index.html" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-auth="NotApplicable" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: inherit; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; transition: all 0.25s ease 0s; touch-action: manipulation; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;">CNN reported</a> that Pruitt aides would regularly "scrub" his calendar, but a subsequent investigation by the National Archives and Records Administration ended in January and <a href="https://www.archives.gov/files/records-mgmt/resources/ud-2018-0018-epa-open-close-letter.pdf" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-auth="NotApplicable" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: inherit; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; transition: all 0.25s ease 0s; touch-action: manipulation; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;">found no evidence</a> of wrongdoing.</font></p><p class=" story-textparagraph" data-content-child-index="0-6" times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" serif="serif" color="color" rgb="rgb" font-size="font-size" rem="rem" line-height="line-height" style="margin: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">However, since NARA concluded its investigation, EPA's inspector general has been investigating the allegations. A second source familiar with the matter told POLITICO that investigators with EPA's inspector general questioned a witness roughly six months ago about Jackson's alleged role in destroying documents.</font></p></div></div><div class="containercolumn containercolumn--story center-vertically right-zone hide-under-small" aria-hidden="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: flex; -webkit-box-orient: vertical; -webkit-box-direction: normal; flex-direction: column; width: 18.75rem; border: 0px; min-width: 0px; -webkit-box-pack: center; justify-content: center; margin-top: 0px; margin-left: 1.875rem;"><div class="story-enhancement" id="aside-0" data-aside-index="0" style="box-sizing: border-box;" /></div></div></div></div></div></section><section class="page-contentrow page-contentrow--story" data-ad-section="6" helvetica="Helvetica" neue="Neue" arial="Arial" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" style="font-size: small; box-sizing: border-box; background: rgb(255, 255, 255); position: relative; z-index: 2; margin: 1.875rem auto 0px; max-width: 84.375rem; border: 0px; padding: 0px 1.875rem;"><aside class="story-enhancement" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><p class="story-continued" style="margin: 0px auto 1.25rem; box-sizing: border-box; text-align: center; padding-bottom: 0.625rem; font-style: italic; position: absolute; left: -999em; top: -999em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Story Continued Below</font></p></aside></section><section class="page-contentrow page-contentrow--story main-section" data-content-section="16" helvetica="Helvetica" neue="Neue" arial="Arial" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" style="font-size: small; background: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; position: relative; z-index: 2; margin: 1.875rem auto 0px; max-width: 84.375rem; border: 0px; padding: 0px 1.875rem;"><div class="container container--story story-layout--fixed-fluid" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: flex; border: 0px; -webkit-box-orient: horizontal; -webkit-box-direction: normal; flex-direction: row;"><div class="containercolumn containercolumn--story center-horizontally hide-under-medium" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: flex; -webkit-box-orient: vertical; -webkit-box-direction: normal; flex-direction: column; width: 18.75rem; border: 0px; min-width: 0px;"><div class="containercolumn containercolumn--story" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: flex; -webkit-box-orient: vertical; -webkit-box-direction: normal; flex-direction: column; width: 960px; border: 0px; min-width: 0px; margin-top: 0px; -webkit-box-flex: 1; flex: 1 1 0%; margin-left: 1.875rem;"><div class="containerrow containerrow--story story-layout--fluid-fixed" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: flex; -webkit-box-orient: horizontal; -webkit-box-direction: normal; flex-direction: row; -webkit-box-flex: 1; flex: 1 1 0%;"><div class="containercolumn containercolumn--story center-horizontally" style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-box-orient: vertical; -webkit-box-direction: normal; flex-direction: column; width: 630px; border: 0px; min-width: 0px; -webkit-box-flex: 1; flex: 1 1 0%;"><div class="story-text" style="box-sizing: border-box; max-width: 39.375rem; margin: 0px auto;"><p class=" story-textparagraph" data-content-child-index="0-0" times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" serif="serif" color="color" rgb="rgb" font-size="font-size" rem="rem" line-height="line-height" style="margin: 0px 0px 1.875rem; box-sizing: border-box;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">EPA's Inspector General's Office has launched numerous probes into Pruitt and Jackson, but it is not clear which of those inquiries involves alleged document destruction.</font></p><p class=" story-textparagraph" data-content-child-index="0-1" times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" serif="serif" color="color" rgb="rgb" font-size="font-size" rem="rem" line-height="line-height" style="margin: 0px 0px 1.875rem; box-sizing: border-box;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Jackson is also facing allegations of stonewalling the internal watchdog.</font></p><p class=" story-textparagraph" data-content-child-index="0-2" times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" serif="serif" color="color" rgb="rgb" font-size="font-size" rem="rem" line-height="line-height" style="margin: 0px 0px 1.875rem; box-sizing: border-box;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">This week, <span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">acting Inspector General Charles Sheehan <a href="https://subscriber.politicopro.com/article/2019/11/open-defiance-epa-watchdog-says-chief-of-staff-wont-answer-questions-1819357" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-auth="NotApplicable" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: inherit; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; transition: all 0.25s ease 0s; touch-action: manipulation; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;">accused Jackson</a></span> of defying investigators by refusing to fully cooperate with two probes. One instance detailed by Sheehan involves an attempt to find out how and where Jackson obtained the testimony of Deborah Swackhamer, the former chairman of EPA’s Board of Scientific Counselors. She had alleged that she felt “bullied” by Jackson's attempt to get her to stick to pro-Trump administration talking points at a congressional hearing.</font></p><p class=" story-textparagraph" data-content-child-index="0-3" times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" serif="serif" color="color" rgb="rgb" font-size="font-size" rem="rem" line-height="line-height" style="margin: 0px 0px 1.875rem; box-sizing: border-box;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">A spokesperson for the <span style="box-sizing: border-box;">IG declined to comment on the subject of ongoing investigations.</span></font></p><p class=" story-textparagraph" data-content-child-index="0-4" times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" serif="serif" color="color" rgb="rgb" font-size="font-size" rem="rem" line-height="line-height" style="margin: 0px 0px 1.875rem; box-sizing: border-box;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">As POLITICO was reporting <span style="box-sizing: border-box;">this story, a number of people close to Jackson reached out unprompted to say they had never seen him destroy documents, but would only speak on condition of anonymity.</span></font></p><p class=" story-textparagraph" data-content-child-index="0-5" times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" serif="serif" color="color" rgb="rgb" font-size="font-size" rem="rem" line-height="line-height" style="margin: 0px 0px 1.875rem; box-sizing: border-box;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"Having worked with Ryan on a near daily basis, I never witnessed or heard of any of these allegations and it would be uncharacteristic of him to do," said a Trump administration official.</font></p><p class=" story-textparagraph" data-content-child-index="0-6" times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" serif="serif" color="color" rgb="rgb" font-size="font-size" rem="rem" line-height="line-height" style="margin: 0px 0px 1.875rem; box-sizing: border-box;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">A former senior EPA official also said: “Ryan Jackson has spent his entire career in public service, managing hundreds of staff over more than two decades. To suggest that Ryan Jackson is anything other than a professional and esteemed public servant who is committed to his staff and the Agency’s mission is pure slander."</font></p><p class=" story-textparagraph" data-content-child-index="0-7" times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" serif="serif" color="color" rgb="rgb" font-size="font-size" rem="rem" line-height="line-height" style="margin: 0px 0px 1.875rem; box-sizing: border-box;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"There’s nobody who’s more meticulous in his record keeping and in his notes and in his checklists," another senior EPA official said. <span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;">"</span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Everybody on day 1 had records training and to the extent that somebody deviated from that, that’s on them for themselves because they all signed that paperwork and they all had to certify that training.</span></font></p><p class=" story-textparagraph" data-content-child-index="0-9" times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" serif="serif" color="color" rgb="rgb" font-size="font-size" rem="rem" line-height="line-height" style="margin: 0px 0px 1.875rem; box-sizing: border-box;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Officials who are found guilty of “willfully and unlawfully” violating the Federal Records Act and unlawfully destroying federal documents <a href="https://fas.org/sgp/crs/secrecy/R43072.pdf" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-auth="NotApplicable" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: inherit; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; transition: all 0.25s ease 0s; background-color: transparent; touch-action: manipulation; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;">can be fined</a> and face a jail sentence of up to three years. The IG can’t prosecute any criminal violations of the law but can refer matters to the Justice Department. Jackson has not been accused of breaking any laws.</font></p><p class=" story-textparagraph" data-content-child-index="0-10" times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" serif="serif" color="color" rgb="rgb" font-size="font-size" rem="rem" line-height="line-height" style="margin: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"If you destroy documents with the intent of deceiving the public, it can be a violation of the Federal Records Act," said Larry Noble, a former general counsel at the Federal Election Commission. "If you decide these documents may be embarrassing and you don't want the public to see them and therefore you destroy them, you could be violating the Federal Records Act."</font></p></div></div><div class="containercolumn containercolumn--story center-vertically right-zone hide-under-small" aria-hidden="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: flex; -webkit-box-orient: vertical; -webkit-box-direction: normal; flex-direction: column; width: 18.75rem; border: 0px; min-width: 0px; -webkit-box-pack: center; justify-content: center; margin-top: 0px; margin-left: 1.875rem;"><aside class="story-enhancement" id="aside-1" data-aside-index="1" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><div class="collection" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px auto; border: 1px solid rgba(180, 180, 180, 0.35);"><div class="module" style="box-sizing: border-box; padding: 1.25rem;"><div class="modulerow" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.9375rem;"><ol class="media-item-list media-item-list--numbered" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; list-style: none none;"><li style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.9375rem; padding-top: 0.9375rem; border-top: 1px solid rgba(180, 180, 180, 0.35); counter-increment: story-count 1; position: relative; padding-left: 1.875rem;"><section class="media-item" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><div class="media-itemsummary size--small" style="box-sizing: border-box;" /></section></li></ol></div></div></div></aside></div></div></div></div></div></section><section class="page-contentrow page-contentrow--story" data-ad-section="16" helvetica="Helvetica" neue="Neue" arial="Arial" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" style="font-size: small; box-sizing: border-box; background: rgb(255, 255, 255); position: relative; z-index: 2; margin: 1.875rem auto 0px; max-width: 84.375rem; border: 0px; padding: 0px 1.875rem;"><aside class="story-enhancement" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><p class="story-continued" style="margin: 0px auto 1.25rem; box-sizing: border-box; text-align: center; padding-bottom: 0.625rem; font-style: italic; position: absolute; left: -999em; top: -999em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Story Continued Below</font></p></aside></section><section class="page-contentrow page-contentrow--story main-section" helvetica="Helvetica" neue="Neue" arial="Arial" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" style="font-size: small; box-sizing: border-box; background: rgb(255, 255, 255); position: relative; z-index: 2; margin: 1.875rem auto 0px; max-width: 84.375rem; border: 0px; padding: 0px 1.875rem;"><div class="container container--story story-layout--fixed-fluid" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: flex; border: 0px; -webkit-box-orient: horizontal; -webkit-box-direction: normal; flex-direction: row;"><div class="containercolumn containercolumn--story center-horizontally hide-under-medium" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: flex; -webkit-box-orient: vertical; -webkit-box-direction: normal; flex-direction: column; width: 18.75rem; border: 0px; min-width: 0px;"><div class="containercolumn containercolumn--story" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: flex; -webkit-box-orient: vertical; -webkit-box-direction: normal; flex-direction: column; width: 960px; border: 0px; min-width: 0px; margin-top: 0px; -webkit-box-flex: 1; flex: 1 1 0%; margin-left: 1.875rem;"><div class="containerrow containerrow--story story-layout--fluid-fixed" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: flex; -webkit-box-orient: horizontal; -webkit-box-direction: normal; flex-direction: row; -webkit-box-flex: 1; flex: 1 1 0%;"><div class="containercolumn containercolumn--story center-horizontally" style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-box-orient: vertical; -webkit-box-direction: normal; flex-direction: column; width: 630px; border: 0px; min-width: 0px; -webkit-box-flex: 1; flex: 1 1 0%;"><div class="story-text" style="box-sizing: border-box; max-width: 39.375rem; margin: 0px auto;"><p class=" story-textparagraph" times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" serif="serif" color="color" rgb="rgb" font-size="font-size" rem="rem" line-height="line-height" style="margin: 0px 0px 1.875rem; box-sizing: border-box;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Sheehan sent a letter to EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler calling stonewalling of investigations a “serious or flagrant problem.” Jackson said he has regular interaction with the IG and his staff.</font></p><p class=" story-textparagraph" times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" serif="serif" color="color" rgb="rgb" font-size="font-size" rem="rem" line-height="line-height" style="margin: 0px 0px 1.875rem; box-sizing: border-box;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Swackhamer, a retired environmental chemist at the University of Minnesota, said two years ago that she felt pressured by Jackson to downplay Pruitt’s decision not to reappoint many members of Board of Scientific Counselors when she was appearing before the House Science Committee. Pruitt later removed her as chair of the board, which provides advice to the EPA on its research and development work.</font></p><p class=" story-textparagraph" times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" serif="serif" color="color" rgb="rgb" font-size="font-size" rem="rem" line-height="line-height" style="margin: 0px 0px 1.875rem; box-sizing: border-box;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Jackson defended his decision to reach out to Swackhamer before she testified, saying in a letter to Wheeler this week that he wanted to ensure she was "fully informed" about the status of board appointments.</font></p><p class=" story-text__paragraph" times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" serif="serif" color="color" rgb="rgb" font-size="font-size" rem="rem" line-height="line-height" style="margin: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Alex Guillén contributed to this report</font></span></p></div></div></div></div></div></div></section><div style="font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><p style="margin-top: 8px; margin-bottom: 8px;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"></font></p></div></div><div>===</div>