Zinke left some details off public calendar: report

CNN reported Thursday that Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke has been leaving details about some meetings off his official calendar.

CNN compared Zinke’s public calendar with emails between the Interior chief and his scheduler, and found more than a dozen times when the calendar does not include or obscures details about his meetings.

In one discrepancy, the network found that the calendar listed a meeting with a lawmaker but did not include that executives from a contractor that works with Interior would also be attending.

{mosads}

CNN also found an instance where Zinke met with an Alaskan mayor, but that the calendar failed to disclose that lobbyists from a firm representing the mayor’s borough in a lawsuit against the department were also at the meeting.

The Interior Department said in a statement to CNN that Zinke’s office “complies with all applicable laws, rules and regulations.”

“We always strive toward transparency which is why we include additional information in briefings that are made available to the public,” the statement read. “Additionally, it’s very common for scheduled items to be canceled the day of, which is why something could be referred to in an email or briefing and not be on the calendar released.”

CNN also noted that Zinke is currently facing about a dozen federal probes into his conduct.

The report comes weeks after former EPA administrator Scott Pruitt resigned following reports, among other controversies, that Pruitt’s calendar was altered to remove certain meetings before being released to the public. Some Democratic lawmakers alleged that the altered calendars could violate the Federal Records Act.

Pruitt also faced months of mounting ethics scandals ahead of his resignation.