On Monday, the Trump Administration’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) formally referred up to $20 billion of potentially mismanaged and abused funding to the agency’s inspector general.
As the Daily Caller reports, the EPA’s Acting Inspector General, Nicole Murray, will lead the investigation into the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF), a program implemented by the Biden Administration which attempted to hand out millions in taxpayer dollars to so-called “green” groups. The matter was referred to Murley’s office by Acting Deputy EPA Administrator W.C. McIntosh.
“Recent findings reveal a pattern of reckless financial management, blatant conflicts of interest, astonishing sums of tax dollars awarded to unqualified recipients, and severe deficiencies in regulatory oversight under the prior administration,” reads McIntosh’s letter. “The EPA Office of Inspector General (OIG) plays a critical role in eliminating waste and abuse, and we stand with your office in our shared mission to restore accountability and prevent further misuse of taxpayer dollars.”
In addition to the EPA’s internal investigation, both the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) will be conducting their own investigations of potential fraud committed by the GGRF.
The GGRF has been criticized for potentially playing favorites with the recipients of its contracts, including groups that were led by high-profile Democrat donors and party insiders. Among the recipients were the Coalition for Green Capital, Power Forward Communities, and Climate United; all three of these groups feature former officials from the Clinton, Obama, and Biden Administrations on their respective boards.
Furthermore, the Biden EPA bizarrely decided to park the $20 billion in a Citibank account, which was denounced by the Trump EPA as “an unprecedented arrangement” that has only raised further questions of possible corruption.
“It is my pledge to be accountable for every penny the EPA spends. This marks a stark turn from the waste and self-dealing of the Biden-Harris Administration intentionally tossing ‘gold bars off the Titanic,’” said EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin in a statement after the announcement of the internal investigation. “The American people deserve accountability and responsible stewardship of their tax dollars. We will continue to deliver.”