A press aide for Scott Pruitt apparently tried to smear Ryan Zinke to get the heat off the EPA chief

Scott Pruitt.
(Image credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

As Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt has been sinking deeper and deeper into hot water, one of his press aides apparently tried to throw him a lifeline — at the expense of a fellow Trump administration official.

Pruitt is the subject of no fewer than 10 ethical investigations, as reports about his extravagant spending, taxpayer-funded flights, and dicey living situation have come to light. In an attempt at "taking the heat off of Pruitt," one of the EPA chief's press aides tried diverting the media's attention to the purported misdeeds of Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, The Atlantic reported Thursday.

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Kimberly Alters

Kimberly Alters is the news editor at TheWeek.com. She is a graduate of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.