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In that letter, the senators wrote that after the Fox News interview, the senators received information from an EPA official that they say \"directly contradicts\" Pruitt's statement in the interview.

The senators have not disclosed their source so it's unclear if it is the same person that talked to ABC News.

Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., also asked the Government Accountability Office to look into the raises in a letter on Monday. Duckworth is on the Environment and Public Works Committee as well.

The Atlantic reported Monday that EPA staffers are aware of an email between one of the aides and human resources in which she stated that Pruitt was aware of and supported her raise.

EPA chief of staff Ryan Jackson said in a statement to The Atlantic that Pruitt had no knowledge of the raises and that these personnel actions are handled by him, EPA's HR officials and the Office of Presidential Personnel.

“Administrator Pruitt had zero knowledge of the amount of the raises, nor the process by which they transpired,” Jackson said in the statement, reported by The Atlantic, adding that \"any communications claiming otherwise are simply inaccurate.\"

The EPA's internal watchdog is currently looking into appointments under that law and the raises would fall under the scope of that investigation.

Duckworth wrote that if EPA employees approved the raises without Pruitt's knowledge, as he said in the Fox News interview, the raises would have violated federal law. She said in her letter that there is \"ample evidence\" that the employee who granted the raises violated the Antideficiency Act, which prohibits federal employees from authorizing spending that exceeds taxpayer funds allocated to that purpose.

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