FAKE NEWS: Staff Emails Undermine Congressman’s Claim of Being ‘Blocked’ From EPA Summit. “Rep. Kildee alleged in television appearances and op-ed the EPA restricted access to summit.”

Kildee’s claims, which he repeated in television appearances over the weekend and in an op-ed published in the Detroit Free Press, don’t hold up to scrutiny, according to official documents and email correspondence obtained by the Washington Free Beacon.

The documents show Jordan Dickinson, a senior legislative assistance handing energy and environmental issues in Kildee’s office, reached out to the EPA on Friday, May 18 about attending. Though the request came four days after the deadline to register for the summit had passed—and nearly two months to-the-day after the event was announced—the EPA told Dickinson they were “optimistic” about there being enough space to accommodate him last-minute.

In a follow-up email confirming Dickinson’s attendance, the EPA told the staffer that Wednesday’s portion of the summit was “limited to federal agency folks” and individuals representing state and territorial governments. Furthermore, the draft agenda that Dickinson was sent, along with information about the event’s logistics and security, denoted the first day of the summit was open to “all invited guests” while the second day was confined to state and federal agencies partnering with the EPA.

At no point throughout the email exchange did Dickinson indicate the congressman or other staff members were interested in attending the summit as well. In his initial email, Dickinson only clarified he wanted to attend because “we have some people in town from Michigan who are attending and also this is a top priority for my boss.”

Kildee, who has served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives since 2013, does not serve on the House Committee on Energy and Commerce or the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, the two committees with the most extensive congressional jurisdiction over the EPA.

On Tuesday, EPA Associate Administrator Troy Lyons penned a letter, obtained by the Free Beacon, to Kildee in response to his allegation. Lyons disputed the assertions that Kildee and his staff made in having “mischaracterized the events that took place” in order to score political points.

The long knives have been out for Scott Pruitt for a long time.