Officials at the Environmental Protection Agency reportedly attempted to hide the fact that embattled administrator Scott Pruitt had dinner with Cardinal George Pell, who has been accused of sexual abuse and is a climate-change denier, in Rome. Kevin Chmielewski, a former top EPA official, told The New York Times that it was a “no-brainer” decision to leave Pell’s name off of the official schedule. An EPA spokesman said the dinner was not “private” or “one-on-one,” and said Pruitt wasn’t aware of the allegations against him. Shortly after the dinner, Pell was charged in Australia.
