"The 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.
The IG's office is asking witnesses whether Jackson has routinely destroyed politically sensitive documents, including schedules and letters from people like lobbyist Richard Smotkin, who helped arrange a trip for then-EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt to Morocco when he was in office, according to one of the sources, a former administration official who told investigators he has seen Jackson do that firsthand.
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. EPA's internal watchdog accused Jackson earlier this week of refusing to cooperate with other ongoing investigations.
Jackson was 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."
Daniel Lippman reports for Politico November 7, 2019.
SEE ALSO:
"IG Warns of 'Ruinous' Relationship With EPA Over Failures to Cooperate" (Government Executive)
"EPA: Facing Fines, Polluters Turn To Trump's Enforcement Fixer" (Greenwire)
"EPA: An Ohio Family Suffers As Enforcement Stalls" (Greenwire)
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