scott pruitt. she is accused by "the new york times" of august ready a secretive alliance with the nation's top energy producers to fight obama's climate efforts. fromll get response 350.org and food and water arch. we will speak with the texas republican member of the electoral college who publicly announced he will not vote for donald trump. could this be the start of a rebellion within the republican party? if the judge orders in and to michigan recount, , we will spek with john bonifaz. all that and more, coming up. welcome to democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. president elect donald trump has scottced he will pruitt the head of the epa. pruitt claimed the climate science change is far from settled. he is seen as a close ally of the fossil fuel industry. in 2014, "the new york times" revealed pruitt another republican attorneys general had formed an unprecedented secretive a aligns with the top energy producers to fight oh by ms. climate -- obama's clim

pruitt faces more e than a half-dozen investigations. among the scandals, he paid only $50 a night to live in a capitol hill condo owned by the wife of a prominent energy lobbyist whose firm represents a roster of fossil fuel companies. pruitt had a $43,000 soundproof phone booth installed in his office, which a government watchdog agency says violates spending laws and is illegal. pruitt had the epa spend $3 million on his security detail, including 18 full-time agents. pruitt routinely travels first or business class reportedly because he was confronted by economy class customers angry over his policies. on thursday, lawmakers demanded his resignation and pressed him on reports he has retaliated against employees who raise concerns about his spending habits. this is the new jersey democratic congress member frank alone. that ats been reported least five epa employees were recently reassigned, demoted, or otherwise retaliated against after ththey raise concerns abot your spending. is that correct, yes or no? >> i don't ever recall a con

part of the grandiose story around scott pruitt. yes this 20 47 security detail that former epa administers or administrators have not had an for which he is no reason. he uses these people to create a bubble around himself when he travels to put on screaming sirens and take them to his favorite restaurants in washington dc, to protect him from citizens who might come up to complain about what he is doing. as you say, to do where things like find his favorite moisturizer. -- to do where things like find his favorite moisturizer. amy: are going to take a break and come back to the latest news, and that is one of the top headlines today, top story of "the new york times," the trump administration after heavy lobbying by the chemical industry scaling back the way the federal government determines health and safety risks associated with some of the most dangerous chemicals in the market. we will be back witith robert weissman, president of public citizen. ♪ [music break] amy: this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace r

we will have more on scott pruitt's emails after headlines.we will speak with lisa graves, which successfully sued for the mess release. the supreme court overturned the death sentence of a texas prisoner wednesday after ruling his own defense team presented a jury with racist comments. duane buck was convicted of murdering his former girlfriend in 1996. at his trial, a state psychologist called by the defense testified that , african-american criminals are more likely to pose a future danger to the public. writing for the majority in a 6-2 decision, chief justice john roberts ruled -- "the testimony appealed to a powerful racial stereotypethat of black men as 'violence prone.'" in anaheim, california, video has emerged of an off-duty police officer grabbing a 13-year-old boy by his hoodie and restraining him before drawing a pistol and firing a single shot. no one was injured in tuesday's incident, which was captured on a cell phone video that went viral on social media. the video shows a man in plain clothes holding a boy against his will, w

pruitt faces more than a half-dozen investigations. among the scandals, he paid only $50 a night to live in a capitol hill condo owned by the wife of a prominent energy lobbyist whose firm represents a roster of fossil fuel companies. pruitt had a $43,000 soundproof phone booth installed in his office, which a government watchdog agency says violates spending laws and is illegal. pruitt had the epa spend $3 million on his security detail, including 18 full-time agents. pruitt routinely travels first or business class reportedly because he was confronted by economy class customers angry over his policies. on thursday, lawmakers demanded his resignation and pressed him on reports he has retaliated against employees who raise concerns about his spending habits. this is the new jersey democratic congress member frank alone. that ats been reported least five epa employees were recently reassigned, demoted, or otherwise retaliated against after they raise concerns about your spending. is that correct, yes or no? >> i don't ever recall a conv

to talk more about scott pruitt, we are joined by two guests. york, may boeve is executive director of 350 action, the political arm of the climate organization 350.org. and joining us from washington , d c, is wenonah hauter, the executive director of food & water watch. wenonah hauter, let's begin with you. oklahoma attorney general scott pruitt cap to head the epa. your response? >> i first ran into scott pruitt when i was writing my recent book on the history of the oil and gas industry. i saw that he was one of the leading attorney generals lobbying on what he called sue and settle legislation, which we has the rightenry to sue the federal government when the government is not doing what is in their best interest. he was lobbying in favor of dev on and continental resources in trying to stop the ability of citizens to actually move forward with lawsuits. i think putting pruitt in charge of the epa is a lot like putting one of the three stooges in charge of the agency. credible on any of the issues around the environment. incan look at what

this is scott pruitt being questioned by vermont senator bernie sanders. sen. sanders: so you are applying for a job as administrator for the epa to protect our environment, overwhelming majority of scientists a we have gotot to at only, and you were telling me that there needs to be more debate on this issue? i'm asking your personal opinion. >> my personal opinion is immaterial. to the job -- sen. sanders: you are going to be the head of the agency to protect the environment and your personal feelings about whetherr climate change is caused by human activity and carbon emissions is immaterial? >> senator, i have acknowledged the human impacts -- sen. sanders: impact. that is the kind of epa administrator you will be, you're not going to get my vote. amy: we'll have more on pruitt's confirmation hearing later in the broadcast. georgia congressman tom price also testified wednesday before the senate during his confirmation hearing to be the head of health and human services. price is one of the leading opponents of president obama's affordable care act. he supp

not administrator pruitt, but outlaw pruitt." the fuel-efficiency car standards, put in place by the obama administration, are a significant part of the united states' effort to cut greenhouse gases and reduce pollution. meanwhile, a new report from the world health organization reveals 90 percent of people on earth are breathing polluted air, and that air pollution kills 7 million people worldwide every year. the acting director of the immigration and customs enforcement agency thomas homan has announced plans to resign, only days after 18 democratic lawmakers sent a letter to dhs asking why the agency has not answered lawmakers questions about the "radical - and in some cases possibly illegal - changes in immigration enforcement and practices." homan's confirmation as permanent head of ice had been stalled in the senate, and his decision to resign is widely seen as a way to avoid facing difficult questions from lawmakers during the required confirmation hearings. homan has presided over president trump's campaign of mass deport

amy: did scott pruitt respond your resignation letter?i have not heard from him to date, but i wish him well. , resigned ata ali the environmental protection agency last week. he's now senior vice president of the hip hop caucus. that is it for today's program. if you would like a transcript or see video or listen to audio of today's show, get a podcast, you can go to democracynow.org. all transcripts are there. democracy now! is looking for feedback from people who appreciate the closed captioning. e-mail your r comments to outreach@d@democracynow.org or mamail them m to democracy now! p.o. box 693 new york, new york 10013. [captioning made possible by democracy now!] vp

amy: did scott pruitt respond your resignation letter?i have not heard from him to date, but i wish him well. , resigned atali the environmental protection agency last week. he's now senior vice president of the hip hop caucus. that is it for today's program. if you would like a transcript or see video or listen to audio of today's show, get a podcast, you can go to democracynow.org. all transcripts are there. democracy now! is looking for feedback from people who appreciate the closed captioning. e-mail your comments to outreach@democracynow.org or mail them to democracy now! p.o. box 693 new york, new york 10013. [captioning made possible by democracy now!] ♪ - today on america's test kitchen, becky cooks eggs piperade, dan makes chocolate hazelnut spread, jack challenges chris to a tasting of maple syrup, and julia uncovers the secrets to 100% whole wheat pancakes, right here on america's test kitchen. america's test kitchen is brought to you by dcs. dcs: manufacturers of professionally styled indoor and outdoor kitchen equipment. at d

scott pruitt's future. >> scott pruitt, sir? amy: the trump administration publish a list 27 about 1300 chinese products to be hit with a 25% tariff. it prompted retaliation from china which responded today with a 25% tariff of its own on $50 billion worth of u.s. goods, including cars, airplanes, and other foodstuffs. this morning, trump tweeted -- "we are not in a trade war with china, that war was lost many years ago by the foolish, or incompetent, people who represented the u.s." in the gaza strip, israeli police shot and killed another young palestinian man in the tuesday 19th such killing in less than a week. 25-year-old ahmad arafa bled to death after was shot in the stomach near the border wall separating gaza from israel in the city of khan younis. israel's military said arafa had breached the border and labeled him a terrorist. his father, omar arafa, said otherwise. next to me. he went to the wall like everyone else. they shot him with a bullet from a silencer. he was far from the wall. amy: the latest killing followe

pruitt routinely travels first- business class. an epa official told politico it's because pruitt was routinely confronted by economy-class customers angry over his policies. when traveling from home, pruitt stays in luxury hotels, and his international travel expenses have soared into six figures. as oklahoma attorney general, pruitt used a private email for state business. he later told the senate environment committee that he hadn't. president trump's personal lawyer and "fixer" michael cohen signaled wednesday he'll claim his fifth amendment right against self-incrimination when a lawsuit filed by adult film star stephanie clifford, also known as stormy daniels, heads to trial. the president has previously criticized people for taking the fifth. this is donald trump, speaking in september 2016. pres. trump: taking the fit the moment, four people plus the government illegally did the server. so there are five people taking the fifth amendment like you see on the mob, right yet that you see the bob take the fifth. if you're innoc

pruitt routinely travels first- business class. an epa official told politico it's because pruitt was routinely confronted by economy-class customers angry over his policies. when t traveling from home, prut stays in luxury hotels, and his international travel expenses have soared into six figures. as oklahoma attorney general, pruitt used a private email for state business.. he later told the senate environment committee that he hadn't. president trump's personal lawyer and "fixer" michael cohen signaled wednesday he'll claim his fifth amendment right against self-incrimination when a lawsuit filed by adult film star stephanie clifford, also known as stormy daniels, heads to trial. the president has previously criticized people for taking the fifth. this is donald trump, speaking in september 2016. pres. trump: taking the fit the moment, four people plus the government illegally did the server. so there are five people taking the fifth amendment like you see on the mob, right yet that you see the bob take the fifth. if you're inno

scott pruitt stayed.ou talk about who was at that dinner. >> again, shows you what incredible status leonard the ohio. scott pruitt was in town for federalist society meeting. scott pruitt is very active in the federalist society. these are people with like-minded philosophies about the benefits of limited government. leonard approached scott and said, scott trust over friday night for dinner. i think you'll enjoy. scott pruitt shows up for the dinner -- it is in a basement, which is interesting. they don't specify why it was held in the basement location and washington, d.c. and who is at the dinner table but justice scalia and justice thomas. these are the kind of folks when leonard leo has a friday night dinner and a vice the attorney general from oklahoma to join them, these are the folks he has around the table. one of the interesting things, this little anecdote, which scott pruitt mention in a speech he gave in michigan last year, this came up during scott pruitt confirmation hearing because this m

pruitt's chief of staff replied "on it." in other emails, hart also lobbied pruitt's office on behalf of coca cola and hsbc. pruitt has falsely claimed j. steven hart did not lobby the epa last year. meanwhile, buzzfeed also reports other internal emails show that a month after becoming epa administrator, scott pruitt told top executives with the american petroleum institute that he was lookining to fill regional director positioions within the agency. the emails are the l latest evidencece pruitt sought to recruiuit members of the fossill fuel indndustry to work at the epa. in the latest attack on the science of climate change, the trump administration appears to be shifting the national oceanic and d atmospheric administration awayay from studyingng climate change. noaa has been one of the key federal science agencies working on climate change. but a recent presentation revealed the agency has now dropped the word "climate" from its mission entirely. in more climate change news federal judge has thrown out a , a lawsuit in

scott pruitt issuing that order.cott pruitt, as the attorney general of oklahoma, had demanded the epa withdrawal those rules while he was running 30,000 that had received dollars from the american chemistry council. effectively, you had chemical industry funded politicians who made sure and were successful in helping the chemical industry, including arkema, lobby to delay and effectively for now, kill those safety rules. companythese rules, the arkema poured millions of dollars into lobbying right after the trump administration because the rules were going to affect the march 14? chemical companies, including arkema, were lobbying against these rules. by the way, journey obama administration and into the trump administration era through lobbying groups like the american chemistry council, arkema also lobbied on the rules other countries lobbied on the rules. exxonmobil, coke industries, the saudi arabian part government owned chemical conglomerate lobbied against these rules. they were successful. theampaign cash fl

united states with pruitt as he met with industry officials and foreign diplomats. on wednesday, elaina plott, a journalist with "the atlantic," reported she was castigated by epa spokesman jahan wilcox when she asked for comment on the resignations. wilcox reportedly told plott, "you are a piece of trash." meanwhile, president trump praised the epa's s embattled leader wednesday during a cabinet meeting at fema's headquarters in washington. pres. trump: administrator scott am at -- thank you, scott very much. epa is doing really, really well . summit has to say that about you a little bit. amy: president trump made that remark after he toured fema headquarters alongside his wife melania trump. it was the first public appearance by the pair in nearly a month after the first lady vanished from public view following kidney surgery, prompting speculation about her well-being and whereabouts. during trumpmp's tour of fema, e president did not mention a new study that found hurricane maria killed more than 4600 people in puerto rico, 70 times the official toll. trump did

are mounting a campaign urging their senators to vote against scott pruitt, -- scott pruitt's nominationmbers of the national treasury employees union say fear pruitt will suppress scientific findings and undermine their work, and that the trump administration might even seek to abolish the epa entirely. in pakistan, a suicide bomb blast ripped through a dance celebration at at sufi muslim shrine thursday, killing at least 77 people and wounding hundreds of worshipers in a remote part of the southern province. survivors of the bombing described a horrific scene. >> ass soon asas i enter the shrine, i heard d a dreadful sounund. it the next thought came to my mind was that we were dead. it was like doomsday. amamy: an offshohoot of the self-proclaimemed islamic state claimed responsibility for the attack, which was the deadliest single assault in pakistan in recent years. the pentagon has admitted that u.s. warplanes fired depleted uranium munitions during air raids in syria, despite vowing not to use the toxic and radioactive weapons in the battlefieleld. foreign policy magazine reported

that is something that scott pruitt also did.e managed to get the first over the finish line rollback of those coal ash standards. with the good news is, we actually won a court victory yesterday in the sierra club, earth justice, and many other organizations, that is going to call into question whether that rollback can go forward. rollbacksre these endangering our health, but many of them are, we believe, illegal, violating the clean air act, clean water act, flying in the face of these bedrock in mermel statutes designed to detect our health and safety. another thing to remember about the dirty power plan, the coal ash rule rollbacks and all of the rest, they have a long road ahead before the actually get over the finish line. they have to go through public comment and survive court challenges and as we saw yesterday with the coal ash rule, when you're twisting the clean air act and clean water act to do the bidding of fossil fuel executives, you very well they be running afoul of the law . amy: the plan trurump's epa wans to

then we go to capitol hill where embattled epa chief scott pruitt came under fire thursday. >> i just think that every indication we have is that you really should resign and you are undeserving of the public trust. amy: as the supreme court looks poised to uphold president trump's travel ban, we will speak with karen korematsu, the daughter of fred korematsu, whose challenge of the interment of japanese americans during told war ii went all the way the supreme court. all of that in more, coming up. welcome to democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman.

epa administrator scott pruitt is aga facing controversy over a slew of new political scandals. "the washington post" srt pruiortt hadr scher contact the chief executive of chick-fil-a seeking to set up a personal meeting about the possibility of pruitt's wife, marilyn, opening a f franchise f the fast food chain. the revelation is based on emails obtained by a freedom of information act t firequesd by the sierra c club. the nerk tim" reports that p pruitt attendndea university of kentucky basketball game last decemembern seats belonging to joseph w. craft ii bili, theonaire coal executive who is aggressivghtina les limiting coal ut pruitt is also f faccriticm after congressional transcripts surfaced showing he had one of his aides go apartment hunting for him, in violation of federal ethics standards that prohibit personal assistance by a subordinate. the aide was also instructed to try to get pruitt a used mattress from the trump international hotel. interestingly, back in 2015, the mattress company stta dumped trump's matches lined. the united nations has slammed the united s

epa administrator scott pruitt again facing controversy over a slew of new political scandals. "the washington st" reports prui had his former scheduler t thacieieexecutive of chick-fil-a seeking to s up a personal meeting aut the possibility of pruitt's wife, malyn, opening a f franchise of the fast food chain. the e revelation is basesed on emailsls obtained by a freedom f information act request fileledy the sisierra club.b. meanwhile, "the new york times" reports s that pruitt t attendea unersity of kentucky basketball g game la d decembern seats belonging to joseph w. craft iii, the billionaire coal executive who is aggressively fighting to reverse obama-era rules limiting coal poution. pruitt is also facing criticis after congressional transcripts surfaced showinge had one of his aides gopartnt hunting for in viation of federal ethics standards that prohibit personal assistance by a subordinate. the aide was also instructed to try get pruitt a used mattress from e trump international hote interestingly, back in 2015, the mattress company sertta dumped trump's matches line

the epa and president trump have claimed that pruitt has faced death threats. but an investigative reporter with buzzfeed filed a freedom of information act request with the epa seeking all records of death threats against pruitt. the epa's response was that there are zero records of death threats agaiainst pruitt. cnn is reporting president trump is preparing for a possible interview with special counsel robert mueller in the ongoing investigation into whether trump's campaign colluded with russia to sway the 2016 election. trump has not yet officially agreed to the interview. meanwhile, the senate foreign relations committee has announced mike pompeo's confirmation hearing as secretary of state is scheduduld fofor thursday. in hungary, far-right-wing prime minister viktor orban won a third consecutive term after leading a xenophobic, anti-immigrant campaign. during sunday's elections, orban's party won two-thirds of the seats in parliament, giving him even more power to reshape hungary's constitution. this is prime minister viktor orban speaking sunday. >> th

the epa and president trump have claimed that pruitt has faced death threats. but an investigative reporter with buzzfeed filed a freedom of information act request with the epa seeking all records of death threats against pruitt. the epa's response was that there are zero records of death threats against pruitt. cnn is reporting president trump is preparing for a possible interview with special counsel robert mueller in the ongoing investigation into whether trump's campaign colluded with russia to sway the 2016 election. trump has not yet officially agreed to the interview. meanwhile, the senate foreign relations committee has announced mike pompeo's confirmation hearing as secretary of state is scheduled for thursday. in hungary, far-right-wing prime minister viktor orban won a third consecutive term after leading a xenophobic, anti-immigrant campaign. during sunday's elections, orban's party won two-thirds of the seats in parliament, giving him even more power to reshape hungary's constitution. this is prime minister viktor orban speaking sunday. >> there i

has sentenced 40-year-old joshua pruitt to 55 months in prison followed by three years of supervised, over his role in the capitol insurrection. pruitt is an aspiring member of the far-right proud boys organization who was among the first to push past police lines and into the capitol crypt on january 6, 2021. prosecutors say pruitt came face to face with senate majority leader chuck schumer during the attack on congress. video of the incident shows schumer and his security team turning and running in the opposite direction after they saw pruitt approaching. in georgia, the judge overseeing the grand jury probe into donald trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election has rejected a bid by republican governor brian kemp to quash a subpoena for his testimony. however, the fulton county superior court judge ruled monday that kemp will not have to testify until after november's midterm elections, where he faces democratic challenger stacey abrams. the special grand jury was requested by fulton county district attorney fani willis earlier this year. last week, willis sought grand jury su

pruitt's trip was arranged by a lobbyist, richard smotkin, who accompanied pruitt and helped set up meetingsor him. as we drive through the streets of laayoune, everywhere are signs of occupation. the city was built up under spain's fascist dictator, francisco franco, and has been occupied by morocco since the mid-1970's. we pass the united nations' minurso compound, where just over 200 un peacekeepers monitor the 1991 ceasefire between morocco and the polisario, but are legally prevented from intervening to stop human rights abuses. and we drive past the high walls of the notorious black prison, where generations of sahrawis have been detained, tortured, and disappeared. one of them is sahrawi independence activist hmad hammad, who welcomes us into his home. over tea, he describes his torture at the hands of the moroccan authorities during his years spent as a political prisoner. >> they linked electrodes to my ears, and something to my underarms, and to my tongue. and then other sensitive parts. i was bound. and when they used that manual generator, i would hear it cranking. each time they

as oklahoma attorney general, pruitt sued the epa 14 times. his confirmation and swearing-in came only one day after a district judge ordered pruitt's former office to release thousands of pages of correspondence with oil, coal, and gas companies. trump met with four possible candidates for national security adviser over the weekend. former ambassador to the united nations john bolton, lieutenant general h.r. mcmaster, lieutenant general robert caslen, jr., and retired general keith kellogg, who is currently serving as acting national security adviser. the meetings came after general flynn resigned from the post last week over his december phone call discussing sanctions with the russian ambassador. and trump's top pick for his replacement, retired vice admiral robert harward, turned down the position, reportedly telling a friend the offer sandwich.o a "s" trump's search for a flynn's replacement comes as the white house remains dramatically understaffed. a new york times investigation reports trump has struggled not only to fill his cabinet -