More than 700 employees have left the EPA since Scott Pruitt took over by Natasha Geiling.
From the post:
Since Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt took over the top job at the agency in March, more than 700 employees have either retired, taken voluntary buyouts, or quit, signaling the second-highest exodus of employees from the agency in nearly a decade.
According to agency documents and federal employment statistics, 770 EPA employees departed the agency between April and December, leaving employment levels close to Reagan-era levels of staffing. According to the EPA’s contingency shutdown plan for December, the agency currently has 14,449 employees on board — a marked change from the April contingency plan, which showed a staff of 15,219.
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These departures offer journalists a rare opportunity to bleed the government like a stuck pig. From untimely remission of login credentials to acceptance of spear phishing emails, opportunities abound.
Not for “reach it to me” journalists who use sources as shields from potential criminal liability. While their colleagues are imprisoned for the simple act of publication or murdered (as of today in 2017, 42).
Governments have not, are not and will not act in the public interest. Laws that criminalize acquisition of data or documents are a continuation of their failure to act in the public interest.
Journalists who serve the public interest, by exposing the government’s failure to do so, should use any means at their disposal to obtain data and documents that evidence government failure and misconduct.
Are you a journalist serving the public interest or a “reach it to me” journalist, serving the public interest when there’s no threat to you?