© 2026 ABC News

The names of the nominees are redacted from the email but the EPA told the New York Times they were not appointed to the board.

EPA chief of staff Ryan Jackson released a statement Wednesday dismissing the Hart email, saying the agency regularly received hundreds of “solicited and unsolicited” suggestions for possible appointees.

“Smithfield Foods was not advocating for anyone to be on the Science Advisory Board, and Steve Hart was passing along suggestions of individuals who may be interested in serving,” Jackson said.

The email is one of a batch of documents provided to members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, many of whom questioned Pruitt in a hearing with one of its subcommittees last week.

The committee's ranking member Rep. Frank Pallone, D-N.J., said in a statement that the email is proof Pruitt misled Congress.

“This email is further proof that Administrator Pruitt has consistently misled Congress and the public about the extent to which the special interests providing him with gifts have sought specific favors from EPA in return,\" Pallone said in a statement. \"This culture of corruption has diverted public funds to special interests and could undermine all of the important work the EPA does.”

Hart also met with Pruitt and Treacy in what his spokesman called a personal meeting to discuss issues related to preservation of the Chesapeake Bay.

The EPA's internal watchdog is now looking into Pruitt's living arrangement. The arrangement has raised questions about whether it was an illegal gift for the landlord to hold the room open for Pruitt even when he did not stay there and whether it was a conflict of interest.

EPA ethics officials have said that the arrangement was not an illegal gift because it matched other rates in the area, but they also said that their decision only evaluated whether it was a gift and not a conflict of interest. One ethics official said that she didn't have all the information about the agreement when she made the determination.

ABC News has reached out to Smithfield and Treacy for comment.

Hart's former law firm, Williams & Jensen, did not comment on the mail but said in a statement that the firm has engaged outside counsel to review its 2017 filings amid recent reports about Hart's lobbying activity.

","canonicalUrl":"https://abcnews.com/Politics/lobbyist-connected-pruitts-capitol-hill-townhouse-stay-contact/story?id=54890825","legacySlug":"/news/story/lobbyist-connected-pruitts-capitol-hill-townhouse-stay-contact-54890825","noIndexNoFollow":false},"publishTime":"22:45","publishDate":"05-02-2018","updatedTime":"22:45","updatedDate":"05-02-2018","socialImage":{"alt":"A three-story brick duplex one block from the U.S. Capitol where EPA Administrator, Scott Pruitt is said to have stayed. The building is co-owned by the wife of a top energy lobbyist, property records from 2017 show.","credit":"ABC News","ratio":"16x9","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/Politics/washington-pruitt-building-ho-180329_hpMain_2_16x9_1600.jpg","width":992,"height":558},"datePublished":"5/2/2018 22:45:37 GMT","video":{"live":false,"id":54890825,"headline":"Lobbyist contacted EPA, despite denials","mediaAssetTitle":"New Hart email to EPA","description":"The lobbyist is connected to Pruitt's stay in a Capitol Hill townhouse. ","duration":"1:34","posterImg":{"url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/default-img-undefined.png","width":608,"height":342},"video":{"feed":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2018/04/180403_nwo_pruitt_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8"},"playlist":["54125092","50832671","54129080"]},"relatedItems":[{"contentType":"story","date":"March 31, 2018","headline":"EPA chief Pruitt joined by family in condo tied to lobbyist 'power couple'","section":"news","slug":"/news/story/exclusive-epa-chief-pruitt-joined-family-condo-tied-54125092","id":54125092,"image":{"alt":"EPA chief Pruitt joined by family in condo tied to lobbyist 'power couple'","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/Politics/scott-pruitt-gty-mem-180314_hpMain_2_4x3t_240.jpg","credit":"Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty Images","ratio":"1x1"}},{"contentType":"story","date":"October 31, 2017","headline":"EPA blocks some scientists from serving on advisory boards","section":"news","slug":"/news/story/epa-blocks-scientists-serving-advisory-boards-50832671","id":50832671,"image":{"alt":"EPA blocks some scientists from serving on advisory boards","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/Politics/scott-pruit-ap-mem-171031_4x3t_240.jpg","credit":"Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP","ratio":"1x1"}},{"contentType":"story","date":"March 31, 2018","headline":"Pruitt's EPA paid for lobbyist's condo door after security busted it ","section":"news","slug":"/news/story/exclusive-pruitts-epa-security-broke-door-lobbyist-condo-54129080","id":54129080,"image":{"alt":"Pruitt's EPA paid for lobbyist's condo door after security busted it ","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/Politics/washington-pruitt-building-ho-180329_hpMain_2_4x3t_240.jpg","credit":"ABC News","ratio":"1x1"}}],"relatedContentSection":"news","schemaContent":{"name":"Lobbyist contacted EPA, despite denials","description":"The lobbyist is connected to Pruitt's stay in a Capitol Hill townhouse. ","duration":"1:34","uploadDate":"05-02-2018","publication":"05-02-2018","images":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/default-img-undefined.png","url":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2018/04/180403_nwo_pruitt_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8","contentUrl":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2018/04/180403_nwo_pruitt_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8","link":"https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/news/story/lobbyist-connected-pruitts-capitol-hill-townhouse-stay-contact-54890825"}},"playlist":[{"id":"132569874","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132567885","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132510121","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132473181","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132497933","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132281378","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132283010","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132273278","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132231169","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132206748","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132200241","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132054443","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132054798","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132033010","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131912713","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131830583","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131834976","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131554765","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131554815","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131543053","contentType":"story","section":"news"}],"kvps":{"pgtyp":"article","lang":"en","sp":"goodmorningamerica","programmatic":"true","bundleId":"com.abcnews"}},"analytics":{"accountID":"wdgnewwdgnewgmaweb","ns":"gma","pageName":"gma:news:video","pageType":"video","globalSpecVersion":"v1.08","siteDifferentiator":"gma:site","tagID":"g_page01","userABCookie":"0","section":"news","title":"Lobbyist contacted EPA, despite denials","pubTime":"18:45","pubDate":"05-02-2018","modTime":"18:45","modDate":"05-02-2018","taxonomyTags":"none","id":54890825,"editorialOtherSubjects":"","wordCount":"none","columns":"none","authors":"","authorsUnit":"none","authorsBureau":"none","subBrand":"Good Morning America","provider":"Good Morning America","videoName":"Lobbyist contacted EPA, despite denials","mediaAssetTitle":"New Hart email to EPA","videoId":54890825,"mediaOnPage":"video","legacySlug":"/news/story/lobbyist-connected-pruitts-capitol-hill-townhouse-stay-contact-54890825"},"taboola":{}},"request":{"headers":{},"httpVersion":"1.1","method":"GET","url":"/video/54890825","vary":{"host":"www.goodmorningamerica.com","cached":true,"path":"/video/54890825","forwarded-proto":"https","device":"desktop","userab":"0"}},"viewport":{"width":1260,"height":0},"user":{}};