Vitter: EPA Lied About Official’s Use Of Private Emails For Government Business
Photo Credit: Washington Examiner Sen. David Vitter, R-LA, charged today that Environmental Protection Agency officials “lied” about the extent of former Region 8 Administrator James Martin’s use of private email accounts to conduct official business.
“EPA should start owning up to the facts piling up before them. Their blatant disregard for proper procedure and transparency is now being regularly exposed, and EPA’s leadership must be held accountable,” Vitter said. An EPA spokesman has been asked for a response.
Vitter’s charge comes on the eve of Sunshine Week, which begins Sunday, March 10, 2013. Sunshine Week is intended to commemorate passage of the federal Freedom of Information Act in 1966, which guarantees the public the right to obtain copies of all government documents not otherwise exempted from disclosure.
Sunshine Week coincides with the birthday of James Madison, who wrote the First Amendment and its guarantee of freedom of the independent press.
Martin resigned shortly after Vitter, the ranking Republican on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, and House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Chairman Rep. Darrell Issa, R-CA, announced on Jan. 29, 2013, a joint investigation of the EPA official’s email practices.
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