Audrey Streb, Daily Caller
A government watchdog filed an ethics complaint Friday against a former Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) attorney who publicly aired grievances about the Trump administration’s criticism of a Biden-era climate program that directed billions to green groups linked to Democratic donors and insiders.
Democracy Restored alleged in its complaint that James F. Drummond — a former EPA lawyer who blasted the Trump administration’s handling of the Biden-era Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF) — may have violated Maryland’s Rules of Professional Conduct by speaking to Politico’s E&E News about program details and criticizing his former employer. Though Drummond resigned his Maryland law license in March, the complaint alleges he may have violated ethical duties to his former client and urges the Maryland Attorney Grievance Commission to investigate and impose any necessary discipline.
“Mr. Drummond’s statements regarding the EPA and its leadership after his time representing the agency as an attorney are not only a breach of legal ethics, but the rules of his state of Maryland. The Maryland Attorney Grievance Commission must investigate these actions by Mr. Drummond and act where necessary,” Democracy Restored Director Houston Keene told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “Not doing so will only embolden future attorneys representing administrations of either or any party to engage in these petty politics knowing there will be no consequences for their actions.”