In a no-holds-barred statement, EPA Director Lee Zeldin went off on a reporter from The New York Times, berating the journalist for covering up the Biden Administration’s wasteful and fraudulent spending and referencing a 39-page statement from a judge that presented significant evidence pointing to the Biden-led EPA’s flagrant corruption.
For context, at a press conference held on April 21, 2025, NYT reporter Lisa Friedman asked Director Zeldin to present evidence of corrupt, fraudulent, and wasteful spending within the EPA under former President Biden. In response, Director Zeldin criticized Friedman and the left-wing press at large for their dismissive response to clear evidence of Biden’s corruption.
When asked by Lisa Friedman where to find the evidence of the EPA’s corruption, Director Zeldin responded, “The New York Times is going to write that there is no evidence.” Interrupting, Friedman responded, “We’ve written that judges have not found evidence.”
Continuing, Director Zeldin pushed past the interruption and referenced a piece written by Friedman in The New York Times, saying, “‘Over the last few months, Lee Zeldin, an administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, has made explosive accusations against the Biden Administration…you know this because you wrote it.”
Moving on, Director Zeldin quoted Friedman’s own reporting back at her, pointing out the journalist’s unwillingness to acknowledge the evidence of corruption within the EPA. Quoting from a story by Friedman, Zeldin said, “‘Now, as a legal battle ensues over those funds, many of Mr. Zeldin’s claims remain unsupported, and some are flat-out false.'”
After pulling directly from Friedman’s reporting, Director Zeldin asked the journalist to explain herself, saying, “Why wouldn’t you write that there is any evidence?” Friedman responded, “Could you point out to us where the judges have found that there’s waste?”
In response, Director Zeldin rebuffed Friedman, saying, “It’s not that easy for you, Lisa, see, because you guys are writing stories. These are your words. These aren’t the judge’s words. So if you want to ask the question, I’m referring to one of your stories, and this came out before the judge’s decision came out.” Zeldin went on to ask Friedman, “Did you read the judge’s 39-page decision?”
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Responding, Friedman said she had not read the decision, to which Zeldin pointed to his responsibility to root out waste within the EPA and save taxpayers money, saying, “I have a job to make sure that I don’t waste tax dollars, and then for people in the media to be willing to sacrifice their own integrity and the integrity of your paper to make a claim that there’s no evidence supporting [the claims of fraud].” Director Zeldin ended by referencing the judge’s decision, saying, “It was an amendment to reduce EPA oversight…I am imagining that you are going to be filled with so much outrage when you read that footnote to the judge’s opinion that says that that doesn’t even exist.”
Watch Director Zeldin’s statement:
Featured image credit: screenshot from the embedded video