Whitehouse Probes Possible Police Misconduct in EPA Funding Freeze
TL/DR –
Senator Sheldon Whitehouse has sent a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel asking about the Department of Justice and FBI’s investigation into the Environmental Protection Agency’s Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund. The letter requests clarification surrounding EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin’s assertion that a $20 billion fund at Citibank and the use of a financial agent agreement was improperly managed, a claim which led to an investigation and the freezing of most of the funds at Citibank. Whitehouse claims that the investigation appears to be a misuse of law enforcement to serve “President Trump’s vindictive political whims”, with the lack of a valid basis for an investigation suggesting a possible attempt to interfere with the allocation of properly appropriated funds.
Senator Whitehouse Probes AG Bondi on Possible Misuse of Law Enforcement for ‘Presidential Political Whims’
Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) has sent a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel, questioning an investigation into the Environmental Protection Agency’s Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF). The inquiry began after EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin’s misleading social media claims about the fund’s $20 billion allocation at Citibank.
“It appears you reverted to a pretextual criminal investigation to provide an excuse to interfere,” Whitehouse stated in his letter to Bondi and Patel.
Public reporting, such as in the Washington Post, reveals that most of the GGRF funds at Citibank were frozen after Zeldin called for the termination of the agreement. The DOJ and FBI’s subsequent investigation has raised concerns about potential misuse of law enforcement tools.
“This chain of events gives reason to believe that the Trump administration is misusing law enforcement… to humor President Trump’s vindictive political whims,” Whitehouse wrote.
In earlier exchanges, Whitehouse led calls from Democratic members of the EPW Committee, querying Zeldin’s attempts to seize the GGRF funding. Senators Whitehouse, Ed Markey (D-MA), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), and others also wrote to the Department of Justice regarding the forceful resignation of the head of the criminal division in D.C., Denise Cheung, over her refusal to engage in an unwarranted investigation.
The full letter is available for review, detailing the request for information about the DOJ and FBI’s investigation into the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund.
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