The top Democrat of the U.S. House Judiciary Committee on Thursday called for an investigation into whether the head of the Environmental Protection Agency violated federal law in connection with a Denver fundraiser.
Rep. John Conyers Jr. of Michigan, the ranking member of the Judiciary Committee, delivered a letter to U.S. Special Counsel Scott J. Bloch, questioning whether EPA chief Stephen Johnson improperly solicited political contributions and the political participation of those who have business pending before his agency.
Federal law restricts certain political activity of executive branch employees.
EPA spokeswoman Lisa Lybbert said she could not comment specifically on the letter because the agency had not seen a copy. But she said Johnson attended the event on his own time and not in any official capacity.
“It was 100 percent legal and 100 percent ethical,” she said.
The campaign of Republican Rick O’Donnell, a 7th Congressional District candidate, has declined to release any information about the event. But in response to a public-records request by The Denver Post, the EPA disclosed last week the names of the 10 people who attended the March 9 fundraiser for O’Donnell. The Greenberg Traurig law firm, which represents clients who sue or lobby the EPA, hosted the $300-a-plate event. The organizer, Greenberg lawyer Doug Benevento, was until recently the head of Colorado’s health and environment office.
Also in attendance were executives from the Colorado Mining Association, El Paso Gas and the Colorado Petroleum Association. El Paso and members of the two associations have activities that fall under federal environmental regulation.
Those circumstances, Conyers wrote, “could lead one to draw an inference that a political campaign was attempting to provide access to a government official for donors whose businesses are regulated by that official.”
O’Donnell’s campaign disputed that characterization.
“There was never any intent to sell access,” said campaign spokeswoman K.C. Jones. “It will become clear it wasn’t the intent, the purpose or what happened at this event.”
The executives have said they were at the event on their own time, not as representatives of their association or business, and Benevento said that the event was only for people who were interested in giving money to O’Donnell.
Shayne Madsen, a lawyer at McKenna Long & Aldridge, was one of the 10 people on the list. But she says neither she nor anyone at her firm was present. McKenna is representing a group in a pending federal lawsuit against the EPA.
Although O’Donnell’s campaign said it sent the list of attendees to the EPA for review of potential conflicts, the agency said it did not do so because the event was attended on Johnson’s personal time.
That makes things additionally troub ling, Conyers said, because eight days before the fundraiser, Johnson was involved in a decision that may potentially affect some of those at the fundraiser. The EPA announced a plan to cut toxic emissions in half by 2030.
“I believe there are many disturbing aspects surrounding the fundraising event that warrant review,” Conyers wrote.
Additionally, Conyers contends, it “appears Mr. Johnson’s title was used in connection with fundraising.” In an e-mail from O’Donnell’s supporters to potential donors, the subject line referred to Johnson as the EPA administrator. Lybbert has said that Johnson did not approve the e-mail.
Federal law prohibits presidential appointees from knowingly using their titles for political activities.
In 2000, William Yellowtail, the Denver-based regional EPA administrator, was suspended for 100 days without pay after he signed a fundraising letter for a friend running for Congress. The special counsel’s investigation found Yellowtail had violated the law.
The Colorado Democratic Party has also filed a federal complaint with the special counsel’s office.
Staff writer Karen Crummy can be reached at 303-820-1594 or kcrummy@denverpost.com.
