SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) – California’s attorney general sued the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Friday for failing to provide records he contends could show conflicts of interest by Administrator Scott Pruitt.
Attorney General Xavier Becerra, a Democrat, is trying to force the agency to release documents he requested in April. He is among state officials nationwide who have vowed to oppose the Trump administration on issues such as climate change and immigration.
Becerra contends Pruitt may have conflicts, particularly because the EPA administrator is now reviewing numerous regulations that he opposed while serving as Oklahoma’s attorney general. Pruitt, a Republican, sued or took part in legal actions against the EPA 14 times.
EPA officials did not respond to telephone and email requests for comment.
The suit filed in Washington, D.C., federal court says the EPA failed to respond as required by May and still has not provided the documents despite Becerra sending a notice of violation in June.