Both Mr. Craft and Mr. Pruitt are originally from Kentucky and later moved their professional lives to Oklahoma, where Mr. Pruitt served in the state legislature and then as the state attorney general before he was nominated to take over the E.P.A. Alliance Resources is based in Tulsa, Okla.
As attorney general, Mr. Pruitt sought to protect the coal industry and coal-burning power plants from federal regulation. Mr. Craft was a financial supporter of Mr. Pruitt’s political causes. After Mr. Pruitt joined the E.P.A., he continued to advance policies that benefited the coal industry.
Separately on Wednesday, the E.P.A. made public a long-delayed financial disclosure report for Mr. Pruitt covering 2017. That period includes the time when Mr. Pruitt was living in a Capitol Hill condominium that he was renting from the spouse of an energy lobbyist for $50 a night, an arrangement that triggered one of several investigations into his actions and oversight at the agency.
The 2017 financial disclosure form does not list the Capitol Hill condo as a gift, a step that some suggested Mr. Pruitt might take, based on the widely held view that he was paying below market value for the unit. (Previously, Mr. Pruitt has denied that it was a below-market-value arrangement.)
At the time of the rental, Mr. Pruitt was the target of lobbying by the spouse of the condo’s co-owner, J. Steven Hart, who at that time was the chairman of the Williams & Jensen lobbying firm.
The form does appear to address the condo question indirectly. The document states that Mr. Pruitt was aware of allegations that “certain actions or activities during 2017 may constitute ‘gifts’ to me that require inclusion on this report. To the extent that I am aware of specific allegations, I dispute the facts asserted and, accordingly, am not aware of reportable gifts. In the event that there are any future findings to the contrary, I will address the issue at that time and amend this report as directed and/or as necessary.”
Mr. Pruitt’s financial disclosure form also lists as much as $300,000 in legal fees from two law firms. Mr. Pruitt has had to hire his own lawyers to help address the dozen or so investigations into his oversight and actions at the E.P.A.
Mr. Pruitt’s next career steps have been the source of interest particularly in Oklahoma, where he is seen as a viable candidate for the United States Senate or to be governor.
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