Ex-Lobbyist for Foreign Governments Helped Plan Pruitt Trip to Australia

"WASHINGTON — A Washington consultant who was removed from President Trump’s transition team for using his business email address for government work played a central role last year in planning a trip to Australia for Scott Pruitt, the head of the Environmental Protection Agency, and then took steps to disguise his role, new documents show.

The consultant, Matthew C. Freedman, who is also a former lobbyist for foreign governments, runs his own corporate advisory firm and is treasurer of the American Australian Council, a group that helps promote business for American-based companies in Australia. Two prominent members include Chevron and ConocoPhillips.

Though the Australia trip never happened — it was canceled after Hurricane Harvey devastated much of the Texas Gulf Coast — it shows a pattern in which Mr. Pruitt has repeatedly relied on people with clear business interests to shape the agenda of his foreign travel. Separately last year, a trip to Morocco was organized by a lobbyist who later was hired by Morocco as a $40,000-a-month foreign agent to represent its interests abroad."

Lisa Friedman, Eric Lipton, and Kenneth P. Vogel report for the New York Times May 2, 2018.

SEE ALSO:

"D.C. Consultant And Former Lobbyist Helped Arrange Scott Pruitt’s Canceled Trip To Australia, Records Show" (Washington Post)