{"id":1043,"date":"2018-06-02T13:18:33","date_gmt":"2018-06-02T17:18:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.gopplaybook.com\/?p=1043"},"modified":"2018-06-02T13:18:33","modified_gmt":"2018-06-02T17:18:33","slug":"a-courtside-view-of-scott-pruitts-cozy-ties-with-a-billionaire-coal-baron","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gopplaybook.com\/?p=1043","title":{"rendered":"A Courtside View of Scott Pruitt\u2019s Cozy Ties With a Billionaire Coal Baron"},"content":{"rendered":"
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By\u00a0Steve Eder<\/span><\/a>,\u00a0Hiroko Tabuchi<\/span><\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Eric Lipton<\/span><\/a>\u00a0 June 2, 2018<\/p>\n

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As the influential coal executive Joseph W. Craft III, second from left, has lobbied the Environmental Protection Agency, he has maintained a close relationship with its chief, Scott Pruitt, center.<\/span>Credit<\/span>Eric Vance\/US Environmental Protection Agency<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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LEXINGTON, Ky. \u2014 It was one of the biggest games of the University of Kentucky basketball season, and Scott Pruitt had scored two of the best seats in the arena: a few feet from the action, in a section reserved for season-ticket holders who had donated at least $1 million to the university.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n

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The special access for Mr. Pruitt,\u00a0the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency<\/a>, also included watching from the players\u2019 entrance as the team streamed onto the court, and\u00a0posing for a photo<\/a>\u00a0with a star player in the locker room area.<\/p>\n

But there was more to the game last December than a superfan experience for Mr. Pruitt and his son, who joined him. They sat in seats belonging to Joseph W. Craft III, a billionaire coal executive who has engaged in an aggressive campaign to reverse the Obama administration\u2019s environmental crackdown on the coal industry. Mr. Craft and his wife donated more than $2 million to support President Trump\u2019s candidacy and inauguration.<\/p>\n

Mr. Pruitt\u2019s attendance at the game, the details of which have not been previously reported, followed a year of regulatory victories for Mr. Craft, who maintains close ties to Mr. Pruitt even as he has lobbied the E.P.A. on issues important to his company,\u00a0Alliance Resource Partners<\/a>. And unlike other executives with whom Mr. Pruitt is known to have close ties \u2014 like the oilman Harold Hamm or the coal mogul Robert E. Murray \u2014 Mr. Craft has stayed relatively under the radar.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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A major contributor to Mr. Pruitt\u2019s campaigns in Oklahoma when Mr. Pruitt served in state government, Mr. Craft saw Mr. Pruitt at least seven times during his first 14 months at the E.P.A., agency records and emails show, and they were scheduled to appear together on at least two other occasions. That is more than Mr. Pruitt has met with representatives of any environmental group.<\/p>\n

The relationship is so close that\u00a0the two men trade text messages<\/a>, with Mr. Craft proposing in one July 2017 exchange a possible \u201clong-awaited\u201d dinner and another visit with his company\u2019s executives.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n