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USC Legal Expert Available: Pruitt Steps Down as Head of the EPA

July 5, 2018 By USC Gould School of Law
Contact: Gilien Silsby at (213) 740-9690 or (213) 500-8673 MEDIA ADVISORY SCOTT PRUITT STEPS DOWN AS HEAD OF THE EPA USC LEGAL EXPERT AVAILABLE 
Prof. Abby Wood
ABBY WOOD is an associate professor of law, political science, and public policy. Her research is at the intersection of law and politics, with current papers on government transparency, anti-corruption initiatives, and campaign finance. Wood teaches administrative law, campaign finance, and analytical methods for lawyers. She has taught on a variety of subjects, including international human rights law, constitutional law, quantitative methods for political science, and comparative politics. Before joining USC Gould, Wood clerked for the Honorable John T. Noonan, judge of the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. She also has consulted on good governance projects in association with USAID, World Bank, National Democratic Institute for International Affairs, and UNDP. Wood may be reached at mobile (817) 996-8784 (cell)  or awood@law.usc.edu Wood quote on Pruitt resignation: “The dozens of allegations against Pruitt long ago exceeded the level of alleged malfeasance that our system tends to tolerate in its policymakers,” Wood said. “Most systems can and will tolerate some malfeasance. Trying to eradicate all corruption would not be a good use of government resources. But whatever the ‘efficient’ level of corruption in a bureaucracy, if the allegations against Pruitt are true, we are well past it,” she added.  

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