chief scott pruitt.is scandals haven't come from him working to destroy the environment. they've come from his side husband also. normally when you find out about corruption in d.c. it makes you mad, millions in bribes! but with every pruitt revelation you go, what? >> this morning the controversies keep coming for e.p.a. chief scott pruitt. e-mails show pruitt had one of his people reach out to chick-fil-a. >> he used his position to get his wife a franchise with chick-fil-a. even more astonishing, it's all in writing in government e-mails. >> trevor: you know, i will be honest, this is not the fast fort hood scandal i saw coming out of the white house. if anything, i thought it would be trump getting in trouble for pardoning the hamburglar. in case you didn't know, the hamburglar is in prison. he was trafficking fentanyl. horrible story. ( laughter ) think about this for a second -- you're the head of a major government agency with influence over some of the biggest corporations in the world, and you d

pruitt. we got the news of these top staffers' resignations today, the day after news broke that scott pruitt had directed yet another senior epa staffer to ask the chik-fil-a corporation for help getting his wife a chik-fil-a franchise. by way of illustrating life at this government agency right now, i want to show you the response when reporters got news of the first top staffer quitting mr. pruitt's staff today. this is from the atlantic.com, quote, when reached by foam, johan wilcox, an epa spokesperson would not comment. he said, quote, you have a great day. you're a piece of trash. consider not just what the trump administration has done to the epa, consider what they've done to the job of covering the epa as a reporter, on the taxpayers' dime. you have a great day. you're a piece of trash. joining us now is lisa friedman. she's a climate reporter for "the new york times." ms. friedman, thank you very much for join us. i'm sorry that your job has become marginally more hostile than it h

scott pruitt is standing strong in his job. defense of scott pruitt. jimmy (shouting): james! he's survived record rain and a supplier that went belly up. so while he's proud to have helped put a roof over the heads of hundreds of families, he's most proud of the one he's kept over his own. brand vo: get the most out of your money, whether you're using quickbooks smart invoicing to get paid twice as fast or automatically tracking your mileage. smarter business tools for the world's hardest workers. quickbooks. backing you. ithe race for governort. has turned into a scam. gavin newsom's trying to elect a republican who was endorsed by trump. and villaraigosa's being bankrolled by a handful of billionaires. it's everything that's wrong with politics. and none of it is helping struggling families. here's my pledge to you. i'll keep our budget balanced. invest in affordable housing. fight for universal healthcare. and stand up to donald trump. as governor, you can trust me to do what's right- because i always have. a crazy bit of breaking news. scott pru sit still employed. he rem

pruitt, thank you, scott, very much. epa is doing really, really well. you know, somebody has to say that about you a little bit. people are really impressed with the job being done at the epa. thank you, scott. >> the president has let cabinet secretaries go before. why is scott pruitt surviving? >> we don't really know the answer. some of the other officials let go before who have come under fire for things usually had other issues as well. there wasn't a reservoir of good will. clearly scott pruitt has been keeping faith with president obama's agenda. he's been implementing the policies the president wants to have implemented. i think the president these days feeling the heat from the investigations that have surrounded him is feeling sort of, you know, projecting on other people the notion that they're somehow being persecuted unfairly. any day, one of these stories kind of like get his goat and he decides too much is too much and he could switch gears. >> charlie, republicans, at least some of them, they say they're

pretend you don't even really know scott pruitt's name. this is the first you have ever ard thermighbe any negati whatsoeve concerning scott pruitt and his time as a cabinet official. even if this was it, even if this was the only negative news story that had ever broken about him, ask yourself if you think it seems feasible that he still has this job tonight after this warertafternoo so it's a simple story. scott pruitt got sworn in to be head of the epa in february last year, february 2017. then march, april, may -- three monthster, may 17, ofngor stt uitt at e ep sent this e-mail. from sydney hupp to dan cafey at chick-fil-a. meeting with scott pruitt. good afternoon. hopefully this e-mail finds you well. administrator pruitt asked me to reach out to you and see if you might be willing to get a time set up for the two of to you have a meeting. if there is something i can work with to help get that -- if there's something i can work with to get thatitated i would greatly appreciate it. so this is an executive at an american fast food com

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

>> it's been a series of embarrassing slip-ups by scott pruitt. in the last five days, we've done five different stories. it turns out the lobbyist was lobbying that rented the condo to him even more than we thought. there's a coal executive who gave him seats that you had to make a million dollar donation to get access to. the bed, to get the used bed, and now the resignation of his people and the chick-fil-a. that's five days worth of stories. it's just no wonder the press office there feels under siege. but we aren't making these stories up. we're just reporting them. there has been a bit of tension between the reporters and the press shop. we're trying to do our jobs. i would rather be writing about environmental policy. but pruitt keeps his focused on his management. >> alain na, let me ask you this. there is a sense in we keep having more and more stories. i'm going to read a partial list. there's a sweetheart condo deal, $3 million spent on a massive security detail unprecedented, use of security detail for personal trips, first class trave

for them, pruitt running this public health agency into the ground is a feature, not a bug of the pruitt tenure. they are just in it for the regulatory rollbacks. but i hope they recognize that a lot of pruitt's work is so sloppy that it will likely not ultimately stand up in court. i hope president trump understands that the guy he thinks of as hisreat deregulator isn't actually very good at deregulating. only time will tell how long scott pruitt can survive the mounting, swirling ethical ordeals of his own making, and we will also see how his industry-friendly regulatory record fares under the scrutiny of honest courts, but something tells me that i'll be back here in the not to distant future with more to say about the troubled and disgraceful tenure of scott pruitt. i yield the floor and note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: the presiding officer: the senator from iowa. mr. grassley: i ask that the calling of the quorum be suspended. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. grassley: over the past few days the issue of fa

goodbye scott pruitt.e news of these top staffers' resignations today, the day after news broke that scott pruitt had directed yet another senior epa staffer to ask the chick-fil-a corporation for help getting his wife a chick-fil-a franchise. by w of illurating l this government agencyight now, i want to show you th sponse when reporters got news of the first top staffer quitting mr. pruitt's staff today. this is from theatlantic.com,

, scott pruitt's wife.ultimately unsuccessful so the pruitts eventually relied on leonard leo who is a conservative kingmaker in town and runs the supreme court process for the administration and a lot of judges to get this other paid job. >> and also held on that trip to italy, right? that pruitt took that raised so many questions. whais the epa saying about this?ot>> they commenting at all, but it's, you know, the repeated stories of his effort to get her a chick-fil-a franchise and using anything that we employed last week and efforts to basically for months and months to find work for his life because scott pruitt was telling his aides that he needed more money and could not live in washington on the salary of being administrator. >> the president continues to voice his support of scott pruitt because he's executing the president's wishes inside of the epa, right? rolling back a lot of these regulations. the president just last week said, and i quote, people are really impressed with the job that's bein

on may 16th, 2017, pruitt's former aide writes, administrator pruitt asked me to reach out to you aboutnd message is sent. the administrator would like to talk about a potential business opportunity with mr. katcathy. it is just the latest in a long stream of ethically questionable moves and spending gaffes that has ethic experts amazed just how pruitt is able to hold onto his job. >> it's mind boggling how long the list of potential ethics violations are. >> reporter: earlier this week it was revealed pruitt sent an epa staffer on government time to run personal errands including asking the trump hotel about buying a used mattress for him. a list of probes or investigations into pruitt is a long one, from leasing a d.c. condo from a lobbyist's wife below cost to spending tax dollars on first class travel and weekend trips home, handing out jobs and pay raises to political aides, holding questionable meetings with companies seeking epa favors. 13 separate probes now underway involving pruitt and yet he keeps his job. you don't doubt that is the message scott pruitt is saying through his

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the e-mails show that both hart and his wife vicky who rented pruitt that conn pruitt that condo pushedhire jimmy a recent college graduate. they said that they did not end up hiring that grad, they stand by the statement that hart did not lob by the agency. take us through why this contradicts a lot about what the epa said. >> it contradicts it on a couple different fronts. one, the landlord, vicky hatd and her husband steve hart specifically spoke to in the case of vicky hard the administrator himself and in the case of steven hart he approached the chief of staffer for scott pruitt and said please hire this family friend of ours and also don't bury him in the bowels of epa but give him a senior enough job that it's meaningful for him. that clearly is a form of informal lobbying even if you're not registered for that. but he's e-mails spell out the detail in which he use the the agency and specifically pruitt's chief of staff to both push for meet wgts administrator and his clients and information from the agency about its policies. and we see this on climate change, on the response t

. >> the new propaganda push to safe scott pruitt. >> scott pruitt is standing strong in his job. >> plus, new evidence of a russian attempt to hack state voter systems. >>> and rebecca trayce traister on the # glaring difference between samantha bee and roseanne barr. >> americans are finally paying attention. >> when "all in" starts right now. >>> good evening from new york. i'm chris hayes with two big foreign policy moves just today, the president is turning away from the western democracies that have for decades been america's closest allies, aligning the u.s. instead with autocrats and strongmen who practice the type of leadership that this president admires. in the process he is reshaping our relationship to the rest of the world. the president announced today his june 12th summit is back on fulfilling a long time goal. north koreans meeting with the u.s. president without securing concessions in return. the announcement came after the president welcomed a top aide of kim jong-un to the white house later bragging to the press corps about their strong relationship. >> it was ac

latch ( laughter ) pruitt still has a job, but the 26-year-old aide who had to find pruitt his mattressestments, and chik-fil-a's has resigned from the environmental protection agency because she was "tired of being thrown under the bus by pruitt." and since it's pruitt, the bus runs on coal and sea turtle ughter ) when reached by phone, an e.p.a. spokntesrs. wldonot n he just told the reporter who broke the story, "you have a great day, you're a piece of trash." ( audience reacts ) are they mad about this or is that just how the e.p.a. talks to everyone now? "thanks for calling the e.p.a., hope you die in a grease fire, how may i direct your call?" ( laughter ) well, just before taping that we learned pruitt asked members of his security detail to run errands for him, including taking him in search of his favorite moisturizing lotion. i believe we have some footage of pruitt making that request. >> put the (bleep) lotion in the basket! >> stephen: his skin does look good. ( cheers and applause ) we'll be right back with nick offerman. ( cheers and applause ) ( band playing ) this weekend

plus, pressure on pruitt. not one, not two, but 15 ethics investigations into scott pruitt's alleged misconduct. and a group of senators is asking for yet another -- talk to them about whether it will make any difference at all. >>> and a red line for rudy. the president's lawyer touches on a very sensitive topic. the stormy daniels case, but also makes the mistake of speaking for the first lady. did he cross the line? melania's spokesperson fires back. >>> let's begin with president trump in canada for the g7 summit, arriving late, planning to leave early, and now canceling that meeting with president emmanuel macron. we're waiting to hear if he'll reschedule. america's closest allies are publicly furious about the trade war calling his actions illegal. and just this morning the president answering them with a series of provocative tweets on his twitter megaphone. president trump injecting tension and uncertainty in his relationship with a couple of america's closest allies. leaders he seemed to be very frien

pruitt. this is becoming just something else added to the list. at opportunity never actually materialized, but it's one more thing we're seeing scott pruitt do here as he's und 12 federal investigations right now for a including his travel expenses, flying first class on taxpayer dollars living situation, his coziness with lobbyist, his blatant disregard for the taxpayer dollar and we' seeing

pruitt.> attorney general jeff sessions, thank you, jeff, thank you very much. administrator scott pruitt, thank you, scott, very much. epa is doing really, really well and somebody has to say that about you a little bit. you know that, scott. but you've done -- the epa is doing so well -- >> so two things happened there, he had half a sentence on jeff sessions. people saw that as a slight to the attorney general, just one more slight. and scott pruitt, the epa chief who we just found out had an aide contact chick-fil-a to see if his wife could set up a franchise. you say that scott pruitt has been -- i think the exact quote is acting like a more-on, am i right? >> yes. >> what did you mean by that? >> i support many of the policies of the epa. they're not mr. pruitt's policies. they're president trump's policies. i don't know mr. pruitt. i'm commenting on his actions. i have fought the waste of taxpayer money. i've fought the influence -- the appearance of i am pro-prity and i thought improp

as members of the president's own party starto come out against pruitt with even fox ep expensive pruittrips, his security detail, his private flights and more. >> but it doesn't look like pruitt's boss wants him going anywhere anytime soon. here's the report. >> reporter: epa administrator scott pruitt's problems piling up. "the washington post" reporting he asked his taxpayer funded security detail to drive him to multiple ritz-carlton hotels in search of his favorite moisturizing lotion and asked them to pick up his dry cleaning. a pruitt spokesperson defended his actions to the post saying his detail protects him in his personal or official capacity. and a top pruitt staffer stepping down after she told congress pruitt was interested in, quote, securing an old mattress from the trump hotel. and that's not all. e-mails show pruitt asked for special help for a business opportunity for his wife, who wantedopenck-f-a franchise in oklahoma. >> we need more of them in doing really, really ross the l well. you know, somebody has that about you ao you owe taxpayers an apology? do you owe tax

one was tired of being thrown under the bus by pruitt. asked for comment a spokesperson responded you have a great day. you're a piece of trash. where are we? what are we doing? >> yeah, i mean certainly an unusual comment unusual comment from the taxpayer-paid spokesperson for the epa there, but within the agency there's just a lot of tension. there has been for quite some people, and people who work for proo pruitt feel like they're taking the blame for his problems and people at the white house feel the same way. they're sick of having to answer questions about scott pruitt. they're done with it. >> totally. i've had that same experience. thank you for coming on. appreciate your reporting. >>> president trump has a big, huge, gigantic, enormous, potentially legacy defining meeting coming up. it's true that describes the summit with north korea. it also describes tomorrow's g7 meeting in canada. because as foreign policy goes, this is historically tame for the united states. it's a get together with our closest friends. that is not so m

take a look at what the president had to say. >> scott pruitt, thank you, scott, very much.eally well, and you know, somebody has to say that about you a little bit. you know that, scott, but you have done -- i tell you the epa is doing so well, so many approvals and disapprovals, if they don't qualify they don't qualify but we don't have to wait 15 years to tell somebody they don't qualify and people are really impressed with the job that's being done at the epa. thank you very much, scott. >> and the president's comments come as a growing number of republicans have decided they've had enough of pruitt es problems. several lawmakers say their patience with the chief is running thin. politico says there are many lawmakers now publicly questioning whether pruitt can hang on to the job amid the unending stream of scandals. speaking yesterday, hatch had a word of advice for the administrator. >> i think he has to be very careful because you know, it's important that people believe that he's a person that they can trust and will do the job without -- without influence one way or

but back to scott pruitt. drew griffin joins me now. and pruitt had a bizarre response ts story about him trying to get his wife a chick-fil-a franchise. >> which makes it even worse. scott pruitt didn't see anything wrong with the move and calling chick filla a franchise of faith and excited about the possibility of bringing one of the franchises to tulsa. the presideupport pruitt but increasingly republicans on capitol hill finding it hard to do. one republican senator, john kennedy of mississippi today said of pruitt, he's acting like a moron. scott pruitt tried to use his position as head of the environmental protection agency to get his wife a franchise chick-fil-a. as astonishing as that sounds, more astonishing, it is all in writing in government e-mails. on may 16th, 2017 pruitt's former aide sydney hop from her official account writes to chick-fil-a, administrator pruitt asked me to reach outo you aut a potential meeting. da later a second message and the administrator would like to about a potential business opportun with mr.

. >>> the pruitt problem, dispute multiple probes into his conduct, scott pruitt still has a job. how he remains in the president's good graces. >>> we'll start with a live picture of capitol hill, a beautiful sunday morning where republican leaders are scrambling to get support from the white house on a compromised immigration bill and clear up some confusion after president trump initially said he would oppose the bill just a couple of days ago. a republican leadership source telling nbc news last night heeders are hoping to get some clarity when president trump meets with them on capitol hill tuesday. new details on how white house officials like stephen miller has been one of main drivers, pushing the president to enforcing the separation policy after it was first floated by then dhs secretary john kelly in march of 2017. with escalating krilt sixes on both sides of the aisle, a new prediction for how bad it could get. a border patrol chief telling the "washington post" last night, family separations could double in number. department of homeland security saying nearly 2,000 c

epa chief scott pruitt under fire. and he's now accused of reaching out to the head of chick-fil-a to help his wife land a franchise. here's abc's kyra phillips tonight with the e-mails from prui pruitt's staff as they were reaching out to chick-fil-a, all to help his wife. >> reporter: tonight, epa administrator scott pruitt defending himself amid revelations he tried to use his official clout to get his wife marilyn a franchise with fast food chain chick-fil-a. >> my wife is an entrepreneur herself. i love, she loves, we love -- chick-fil-a is a franchise of faith. >> reporter: last may, pruitt's official epa scheduler emailed chick-fil-a's ceo directly. the subject line, "meeting with administrator scott pruitt." the scheduler writing, "the administrator asked me to reach out to you." she then worked with chick-fil-a to set up a call, adding, "the administrator would like to talk about a potential business opportunity." pruitt eventually spoke with someone at the company, telling abc news the subject of that phone c

to hear pruitt tell it, this is all overblown.of the anti-trump left. >> the left doesn't want to talk about truth. the left doesn't want to talk about results. they just want to shout and intimidate as opposed to talking about what's being done in this administration. there is a great deal being done in this country. with great change, we can talk about opposition. >> it is true he spent so much on security details. it is true he spent $1500 on a handful of fountain pens. it is true he stayed in a sweetheart deal in a lobbyist's condominium. it is true he had tax funded an employee, tried to make a deal with chick-fil-a so his wife could get a chick-fil-a franchise. those things are true. >> don't leave out the mattress. >> it's all petty going to comical petty. is trump along for the laughs at this point? it's not quite clear. you have people like joni ernst saying it's as swampy as it can get. i don't think how long this can last. >> it seems like the president could easily try to move him aside at this point. there are plenty

i mean who is swampier than scott pruitt?ther than maybe the president himself. >> this is how scott pruitt defended his behavior when he testified on capitol hill. but we should note, this defense was before at least a dozen new accusations of misconduct emerged. but here was his defense back then. >> much of what has been targeted toward me and my team has been half truths or at best, stories that have been so twisted they do not resemble reality. i'm here and i welcome the chance to be here to set the record straight in these areas. but let's have no illusions about what is really going on here. those who attack the epa and attack me are doing so because they want to attack and derail the president's agenda and undermine this separation's pad priorities. >> pruitt had at least three epa staffers work to help his daughter get a summer internship at the white house. one aide said they were constantly fielding requests like this. i would imagine helping your daughter get an internship is probably not that unusual in the beltw

a top pruitt staffer stepping down yesterday after she told congress pruitt was interested in quote securing an old mattress from the trump hotel and pruitt asked for special help for a business opportunity for his wife who wanted to open a chick-fil-la franchise in lahoma. >> we need more of them in tulsa and across the country. >> reporter: the deal nevh by pruitt yesterday. >> epa is doing really, really well and, you know, somebody has to say that about you a little bit. you know that, scott. >> reporter: mr. pruitt do you owe taxpayers an apology, sir? pruitt is losing support even from members of his own party. >> he's acting like a moron. >> reporter: he is facing 15 allegations and the credibility office found he broke the law when he installed a $43,000 phone booth in his office. >> it's about as swampy as you get. >> reporter: tonight pruitt working for a president that promised to drain the swamp. kasie hunt, nbc news, the capital. >>> let's turn to the mystery that triggered the evacuation of diplomats. the state department confirming employees from a u.s. consulate ther

they'll do it with pruitt.ir agenda is, they will swallow any kind of corruption, any kind of ridiculousness. it doesn't -- nothing will bother them as long as they get the policy they want. now, i spent 12 years on the appropriations committee. and what we would have done with what scott pruitt is doing now is the next budget would have prohibitions against spending money certain ways or it would have stuff cut from the budget, you know, to make up for what he has been spending this way. the congress is complicit in this by its silence. >> i was struck i think today cbs news had a story that republicans are ready to ditch scott pruitt because of the scandals, though they stand behind his deregulatory agenda. and i think that's what -- listen, when steve bannon, who's coming closer back into this administration, talked about s dismantdling the administrative state, or drain the swamp, they're talking about dismantling the protections that have made this a healthier country. there are two institutions interesti

sort of. >> scott pruitt is doing a great job within the walls of epa.acked very viciously by the press and i'm not saying that he's blameless, but we'll see what happens. >> reporter: according to reporters, what is happening inside of the epa amounts to an administrator using taxpayer funded government workers to dance to his every whim. washington post reporting he used members ever his expensive and intense 19-% security detail to pick up dry-cleaning and a special moisturizing lotion that he favors. the daily beast say staffers are routinely sent out in search of his favorite cookies and greek yogurt. he has used staff on government time to try and buy him a used mattress, find an apartment and pruitt himself in e-mails written by his own staff has been caught trying to use his influence and office to secure his wife a chick-fil-a restaurant franchise. pruitt, who repeatedly avoided any reporter who might ask a tough question, even had trouble answering a polite one from jessica smith about the fast food deal. >> look, my wife is an entrepreneur her

iowa republican senator joni ernst who has been critical of pruitt's position as ethanol said pruittas swampy c. you get hn washington, ouch. she has been in a meeting at th white house. we are hoping to have her on in just a moment. one more commercial break. n dad. liberty did what? yeah, liberty mutual 24-hour roadside assistance helped him to fix his flat so he could get home safely. my dad says our insurance doesn't have that. don't worry - i know what a lug wrench is, dad. is thiwrench? maybe? you can leave worry behind when liberty stands with you™. liberty stands with you™. liberty mutual insurance. with tripadvisor, finding your perfect hotel is as easy as datels, done!t the lowest price... simply enter your destination and dates... and see all the hotels for your stay! tripadvisor searches over 200 booking sites... to show you the lowest prices... so you can get the best deal on the right hotel foyou. dates, deals, done! tripadvisor. visit tripadvisor.com >>> welcome back. time for the lid. the panel is back. sahil, and lonnie. we are hoping that senator ernst will be joini

scott pruitt. this time he reportedly asked a top aide to reach out to republican donors who might hook his wife up with a job. >>> and trumped. another blow to a republican who has spoken out against the president. mark sanford voted out of office last night and emphasizes yet again the gop is now the party of trump. so where do all of the republicans who do not agree with the president find a political home? get to that. >>> we start with breaking news in the michael cohen case. nbc news has learned cohen is expected to split with his attorneys and get new lawyers. we do not know whether this signals a change in legal strategy or, perhaps, future cooperation. cohen, of course, president trump's former personal attorney, and "vanity fair" reports that cohen could soon be indicted. we have details this afternoon from "vanity fai gabe sherman, also an msnbc contributor. daniel goldman, former assistant u.s. attorney for the southern district of new york, and msnbc legal analyst danny is a vauv loe -

there is clearly with scott pruitt a pattern of graft and corruption. question is are they mere ethics violations or does it rise to the level of criminality? i they've all the things being investigated chick-fil-a probably does not rise to the level criminality. but the notion that he was staying in the lobbyist's apartment or condominium while at the same time being influenced by that lobbyist or client of that lobbyist does raise significant questions of pay to play. but brian, to your point of myself and former colleagues, i would say it's also fair at this point with scott pruitt to ask questions of his own personal integrity. every public official when they step foot in that job has to make a decision, are they going to use the office for their own enrichment, for the trappings of power they can surround themselves with or are they going to own up to a certain higher level of public trust, higher level of stewardship? in this case i think it's clear scott pruitt has chosen the former, not the latter. >> jill, how will you know a tipping point if a

scott pruitt is getting roasted. not only by comedians but also members of congress. >> you can just go on the internet, search for ritz carlton lotion. he could have just ordered it without using his taxpayer-funded staff. >> more on that. >>> tonight, we're getting ready for the hot 97 radio deejays takeover of fall back friday. i'm arie melber. you're watching the beat on msnbc. yup. (butch barks at man) butch is like an old soul that just hates my guts. (laughs) (vo) you can never have too many faithful companions. that's why i got a subaru crosstrek. love is out there. find it in a subaru crosstrek. ...to give you the protein you need with less of the sugar you don't. i'll take that. [cheers] 30 grams of protein and 1 gram of sugar. new ensure max protein. in two great flavors. ♪now i'm gonna tell my momma ♪that i'm a traveller ♪i'm gonna follow the sun♪ ♪now i'm gonna tell my momma transitions™ light under control™ visit your local visionworks to ask about transitions™ brand lenses the first survivor visof ais

pruitt but it's not hasn't for everyday use. that's the latest in a seemingly never ending litany of bad headlines for pruitt which this week includes that he tried to get used mat tress from a trump hotel. and then used his position to try to get his wife lined up with a chick-fil-a franchise. senators are becoming more vocal with their disapproval of pruitt's personal conduct. >> i said yesterday, i don't mean any disrespect but he is acting like a more on. >> and the president himself yet again is still coming to pruitt's defense. >> administrator scott pruitt, thank you scott very much. epa is doing really really well. somebody has to say that about you a little bit. you know that, scott. >> joining me now is republican senator joni ernst of iowa who earlier this week said pruitt is quote about as swampy as you get. senator, welcome back to the show. >> thanks chuck. >> let me ask you this, what bothers you more right now, the policies that are come out of epa. voing ethanol or his personal conduct and the judgment he is usi

well, president trump started by appoting scott pruitt head the e.p.a. corruption oozes out of his office. ter] from wasting hundreds of ounds ofyer doll cutting deals to make himself rich to doing the bidding of the highest paid lobbyists. consider clean water.the ean wad to protect drinking water, but industry opposes the rule because it means they can't dump toxic chemicals in the water or spread toxic waste on ground where it might run into drinking water. and since industry doesn't like the cln terule, sct pruitt has come up with a plan for ending it. or think about pesticides. three years ago the e.p.a. decided to ban a dangerous pesticide that puts our children at risk. but right after scott pruitt met with the c.e.o. of dow chemical, the rule was gone. or power. the clean power plan is the biggest step we have taken to fight against climate change, but once scott pruitt met with executives from big coalth e.p.a. announced its plans to end the rule. in just over a year, the administration has worked to roll back more than 60 environmental rules, f

i'm going to go with scott pruitt here, carol.t all of the allegations against him, sort the he's managed his personal and mixed his politics and profession. you now have his home state senator calling, probably saying it's time for him to go. not quite. laura ingraham, a media voice from the conservative side saying it is a time to go. yet president trump seems to almost embrace the fact that everybody hates pruitt, and he almost wants to keep him in there in spite of theed a gagss. is that what's going on here? >> or to spite everybody else. there is definitely elements of that going on here. you have a president who is digging in and defiant as to what he sees a the media establishment and others who are out to get him. it's almost as if he sees some of himself in this -- in what know, the interesting thing to watch here to me media and the commentators do and tuned intoularly and if that drum beats start to really build. that could change his calculus. >> michael l, just as she said that, national review became the latest to s

he said republicans should want pruitt out. his basic argument here, susan, is other people can handle what should be done there without this as a distraction. >> this is something that there is part of the republican party that has always looked at the epa as a place overregulated and that has been pruitt's agenda is to deregulate and take rules off the books. this is not someone who cannot be replaced. he is very -- he didn't necessarily have the qualifications before. the problem that i think has taken so long because let's not forget the first story on the $50 a night condo deal that he had was six, seven weeks ago. the story isn't resonating on fox news which is the only thing that donald trump watches. until it starts a critical mess in front of donald trump's face it won't matter. >> the "washington post" cites reporting from the "new york times" on the relationship between scott pruitt and the president. mr. trump has dismissed the advice of several aides who have tried to persuade him. the two sfeek frequepeak freque t

. >> i want to turn to scott pruitt and the ethics scandal that just won't seem to let up. recent reports say aides to pruitt were made to bring him yogurt, protein bars, pick up lotion, go mattress shopping. here's what president trump had to say about the whole thing. >> scott pruitt is doing a great job within the walls of the epa. we're setting records. outside, he's being attacked very viciously by the press. and i'm not saying that he's blameless, but we'll see what happens. >> erica, is this a turning point for scott pruitt as head of the epa? >> well, you've seen president trump hold this steadfast support of scott pruitt through this long list of scandals that might have toppled any other administration official. it's president trump, he's the one who matters when it comes to scott pruitt's job security, but the scandals are starting to take a toll. you have seen president trump say for the first time, i'm not saying he's blameless, and anything coming out of the epa is now colored by this long list of ethics questions. >> erin, what's your take on that? >> so, for

as far as trump is concerned, pruitt is doing a great job.is is yet another conflict of interest. those kind of issues don't seem to matter to this administration hasa z they seem to go about doing thing that is enrich themselves. for trump, it's all about him. >>> up ahead, i have a "beat" special report about key questions in the mueller probe. one year after comey's famous testimony on the issue. >>> and more of scott pruitt, roasting. when we come back in 60 seconds. for my constipation, my doctor recommended i switch to miralax. stimulant laxatives forcefully stimulate the nerves in your colon. miralax is different. it works with the water in your body. unblocking your system naturally. miralax. now available in convenient single-serve mix-in pax. >>> scott pruitt is doing a great job within the walls of the epa. we are setting records. outside he's being attacked viciously by the press. i'm not saying he's blameless, but we'll see what happens. >> president trump not using many details when claiming his epa chief is doing a great job. s

and there are new and bad headlines for epa chief scott pruitt. melania trump back in public, and what the president thinks canada had to do with the war of 1812. the 11th hour on a wednesday night begins now. >>> good evening once again from our nbc news headquarters here in new york. day 503 this was of the trump administration. and trump lawyer rudy giuliani is escalating his public attacks on special counsel robert mueller and his team in an effort to discredit the entire russia investigation. earlier today at an investment conference in israel, giuliani said mueller's team is trying hard to frame the president of the united states. >> they are a group of 13 highly partisan democrats that make up the mueller team, excluding him, are trying very, very hard to frame him. to get him in trouble when he hasn't done anything wrong. >> while in israel today, giuliani also sat down for an interview with pat robertson of the christian broadcasting network. during that interview, giuliani wept after former fbi director james comey and said robert muelle

so the president is quite happy with what scott pruitt is doing.er how many used mattresses or ringside seats, lotion -- lotions in -- the guy is like a quentin tarantino character out of a movie but he's not going any where because the president likes what he's doing and it will take a criminal investigation to get him out of office and maybe that won't happen, maybe he'll pardon him to or maybe a pardon for tony soprano and the guy is there and will stay there as long atz president wants him there. >> and that is a fair point because the next question is how does he still have a job but elena, that is why because the president is happy with what he's doing in terms of his work. >> exactly. and i think one thing that i think is really important to stress when talking about scott pruitt, the other day i reported that milan hop resigned after her name being caught up in the headlines about being tasked to call about the used mattress and all of the ridiculous things and yet ultimately she's the one who feels she needs to resign. so i think what gets

pruitt bad judgment hurting the president, got to go. she says. is this what's finally going to tip the scales? >> i hope so. we saw this week a few conservative outlets finally speaking up. i don't know why they're so late to the party, because, again, you ca eily find somebody incling his deputy administrator who will have same views. it seems that the white house has no interest in government ethics. it's just simply irrelevant and that of course was my experience with them when i was leading the office of government ethics and it's why i had to finally resign, because this white house is not only indifferent, it's actually hostile to government ethics and the president's allies in congress, again, are sabotaging any efforts to address pruitt's violations by labeling it partisan. >> okay. speaking of ethics, jared and ivanka. the report is they've made $82 million in outside income in this first year that they have served in the white house as the president's top advisers. is that okay? >> well, i mean, i don't know how they find any time to do

plus, pressure on pruitt.two, but 15 ethics investigations into scott pruitt's alleged misconduct. and a group of senators is asking

pruitt, but it's not meant for everyday use. now, according to politico, pruitt racked up a large bill and even invited friends, prominent oklahoma republicans and representatives from the oklahoma farm bureau to join him there at the white house mess hall. >>> coming up for us after a break, the thousands of texans who went out in boats to watch the arrival of hurricane harvey and then needed rescue by the coast guard. the story isn't true, but the allegation came from the very top when "the 11th hour" continues. >>> last thing before we go here tonight, the moment that got the most attention when the president visited fema headquarters in washington yesterday was his decision to place his water bottle on the floor, followed immediately by mike pence's decision to do the same with his water bottle. even though the president was at fema talking about the start of hurricane season, it was noted that he said nothing about the loss of life in puerto rico. puerto ricans are, of course, american citizens just like the people of texas

the mounting of violations against pruitt. reportedly asking agents to pick up his dry cleaning and drive around to pick up a lotion he prefers. ordering a staffer to set up a call with chick-fil-a's chairman to help his wife get a franchise and asking an aide to help him buy a used mattress from the trump hotel in washington. now, joan walsh and jason miller. can you find a reason to continue defend scott pruitt now? >> absolutely. i think the president was very candid and right to the point when asked the question b about administrator pruitt today. he said scott pruitt is doing a great job within the walls of the epa and the president's points out the deregulation. the paris deal. i think he's doing very good b job with that. there's the misleading story that proout was spending a bunch of money to go to the g-p meeting anduin the chick-fil-a story is way overblown. it's not as if he was asking for free chick-fil-a for life. he made a phone call because his wife wanted to purchase a franchise. that he needs to make some of

pruitt. this is becoming just something else added to the list.opportunity never actually materialized, but it's one more thing we're seeing scott pruitt do here as he's und 12 federal investigations right now for a including his travel expenses, flying first class on taxpayer dollars living situation, his coziness with lobbyist, his blatant disregard for the taxpayer dollar and we' seeing this pblem continue to add up where it's become a running joke that he has another ethics scandal added to his list. sarah said she hadn'ted it with t but they were concerns. lawmakers are now piling on the president to do something abo scott pruitt. joni ernst a republican issue a blistering statement about scot going after him for all of these issues saying that he's abouts swampy as you can get and it just goes t show, that this is oneesident's most powerful cabinet member. if the president wants to amp, he needs to take a look at own cabinet. that is a promise the president made when he came to washington and there does seem to be a deal of irony now. >> and