This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2017, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Sens. Orrin Hatch and Mike Lee demonstrated their abandonment of our Constitution's checks-and-balances systems by their duplicitous, accelerated confirmation of Scott Pruitt as leader of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). They skirted facts, and demonstrated dereliction of senatorial duties by rushing Pruitt's confirmation, instead of allowing a vitally important review of his professional behavior. They circumvented inspection of Pruitt's 3,000 emails, illegally withheld from inspection for over two years.
Both senators and the Republican Party had harped for months on the legality of seeing the Hillary Clinton emails for congressional review before the election. They all turned two-faced and politically blocked any review of Pruitt's emails and records vital to determining his qualifications, defying our Constitution.
Pruitt can be proven exceptionally helpful or monumentally destructive as the leader of the EPA. Yet, the senators hurried his confirmation to avoid showing records that support either decision. There are also allegations of dark money Pruitt accepted from oil companies that could easily be resolved by reviewing those records. Side-stepping that is unfounded and unconstitutional.
Both confirmed the incompetence of Betsy DeVos. Both confirmed Gen. Michael Flynn. He lasted 24 days. What is it that is contaminating their integrity? It smells of Trump.
John Dombeck
Santa Clara