Documents obtained in a FOIA lawsuit filed on June 21st revealed that the EPA was using a mass-sharing third party vendor called Thunderclap to secretly share and broadly promote their policies on social media. They also gave the false impression that the policies enjoyed widespread approval.
The information was uncovered via a lawsuit obtained by Judicial Watch.
Information contained in the documents exposed EPA staffers, under Gina McCarthy, recruiting outside groups to lobby for the Clean Water Rule, which amounted to a massive government takeover of private land and water rights.
The Rule gave the government control over all flowing water and collection sites in the United States, even over water by the side of roadways, even ditches if they so desired.
The EPA used Thunderclap service messages across multiple social media platforms. Federal law prohibits agencies from utilizing propaganda but this is what they did, and from the emails, one can determine they did it knowing it was illegal.
The government agents are also prohibited from using federal resources to lobby for grassroots support among the American people to contact Congress on pending legislation though Thunderclap did exactly that. The Clean Water Rule was an illicit outgrowth of the Clean Water Act and it was legislation.
What they did is illegal and it’s unlikely they will ever answer for it.
Judicial Watch has one email from the former Director of Web Communications Jessica Orguina dated September 10, 2014 which shows deliberate violation of the law. In the email, she told EPA colleague Karen Wirth in the Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water to use Thunderclap to make use of the cover it would provide.
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Wirth wrote, “I don’t want it to look like EPA used our own social media accounts to reach our support goal.” Feigning support that isn’t there is propaganda and doing it covertly is illegal.
A December 2015 review by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) determined that the use of Thunderclap by the EPA “constitutes covert propaganda” and that it was a violation of federal law.
The email dump showed there were frequent exchanges between EPA employees and outside allies to coordinate use of Thunderclap.
Judicial Watch president Tom Fitton said, “The Obama EPA knowingly did an end run around federal law to push another Obama environmental power grab. These documents show how these Obama-era bureaucrats seem to be more like social activists than public employees. Let’s hope President Trump does some major housecleaning at the EPA.”
No housecleaning yet. Obama holdovers continue to run the government agencies. The only one laying off anyone is Rex Tillerson in the State Department. He’s following Trump’s directive to cut the agency by 31%.
The other agencies also seem to have embraced the Obama plants.
The Justice Department is a joke. The Benghazi mastermind was just acquitted of murder. Abu Khattalah should have been sent to GITMO. If they can’t get Khatallah convicted, will they ever pursue this case against the Obama regime? We know the answer.
Benghazi Mastermind gets away with murder. Who is running the Justice Department! Thanks Obama and thank you Hillary Clinton. https://t.co/95ahQWiziP
— Tom Fitton (@TomFitton) November 28, 2017
The National Security Council under H.R. McMaster fired anyone who wasn’t an Obama plant.
If we are getting misinformation about these agencies, then we at least need transparency. The media is also corrupt and useless. We won’t get transparency from them.
Our government is corrupt and it needs saving, so does Congress.
Don’t be fooled! Congress needs a full FOIA transparency law — $15 million slush fund is tip of the iceberg. Awan Brothers? Ghost employees? Pakistani Hacking of Congress? We need FOIA for Congress. https://t.co/MBFs1QVcAE pic.twitter.com/WQS2xm456Y
— Tom Fitton (@TomFitton) November 27, 2017
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