Rob Porter, a top former aide to President Donald Trump who was fired earlier this year over domestic abuse allegations, is reportedly a source of information about EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt's ethical transgressions that are threatening his future at the agency, after Porter's relationship with a top former Pruitt aide soured, sources say.
Porter did not respond to requests for comment but two sources say he leaked information about Pruitt after Samantha Dravis, his former girlfriend who resigned last week as head of EPA's policy office, leaked information about his assaults on his two former wives to White House Counsel Don McGahn.
Press reports have indicated that Dravis leaked the information to the White House counsel's office after finding out that Porter had been having an affair with now-departed White House Communications Director Hope Hicks.
One source calls the leaks “tit for tat” and the result of a love affair gone bad.
The Daily Mail reported that Dravis played a role in Porter's firing, including that she told McGahn last November of the abuse allegations against Porter.
A second source says after Dravis caught Porter with Hicks, she kicked him out of the apartment they shared. “She was the source for the news that Porter was beating his ex-wives. . . . And Porter had the goods on Pruitt via Dravis.”
The first source notes that Dravis likely did not intend to harm Pruitt when she shared information with Porter, and that Porter's access to the information -- including that he lived for a time last year in a below-market-rate, lobbyist-owned Capitol Hill townhouse -- was due to their relationship.
However, the source says that Dravis was angry after being crossed, and that Porter did not know what he had coming after he cheated.
The source tells Inside EPA that Dravis had wanted to be Pruitt's chief of staff, rather than policy chief, and had not been expected to stay in the job long.
This source adds that Porter may not be the only source providing information about Pruitt's questionable behavior and notes that there are EPA officials who have been treated badly by him who may also be leaking information.
Politico, for example, citing an administration source who supports Pruitt, reported April 4 that a “recently dismissed EPA political appointee is behind a string of controversial stories about Pruitt that have come to light in recent weeks.”
The administration source told Politico that the former staffer “would have had access to key details about Pruitt’s travel and living arrangements. But that staffer rejected the accusations when contacted by Politico -- and suggested that the agency is trying to shift attention to leaks while attacking former employees who have questioned some of Pruitt’s decisions.”
Alleged Ethical Violations
The alleged ethical violations that have emerged over the past few days include Pruitt's lease of a Capitol Hill townhouse at below-market rates from the wife of an energy industry lobbyist and the agency's awarding two close aides pay raises even after they were rejected by the White House.
In an April 4 interview with Fox News, Pruitt denied that he knew about the pay raises for the aides, who had come from Oklahoma, saying it was done without his knowledge by lower level staff. However, the first source says there is “no way” staff would have made the move without Pruitt's approval.
The new allegations are in addition to a slew of other alleged ethical violations, many of which are under investigation by the EPA Inspector General or the Government Accountability Office, over his first-class travel, his security detail and more.
While Pruitt has sought to defend himself -- and has renewed his pledge to advance President Donald Trump's deregulatory agenda -- he appears to be on thin ice with the White House. “The president is not” OK with reports about Pruitt's controversial lease of a Capitol Hill condo linked to an energy lobbyist, said White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders during her April 4 daily briefing.
“We are reviewing the situation. When we have had the chance to have done a deeper dive on that we will let you know the outcomes of that."
EPA did not address questions about Porter but confirmed Dravis' departure. “After serving for over a year as EPA's head of policy, Samantha Dravis has decided to pursue other opportunities. She has been integral in the Agency's successful implementation of the President's environmental agenda and the agency wishes her success in her future endeavors.”
Porter's current job is unknown and he did not respond to an email to his LinkedIn page.
Michael Glassner, chief operating officer for Trump's 2020 campaign, denied press reports this week that Porter has been hired by the campaign. -- Dawn Reeves (dreeves@iwpnews.com)
Editor's Note: An earlier version of this story misstated the nature of the abuse allegations that led to the dismissal of former White House aide Rob Porter. The allegations centered on domestic abuse.
