The Trump administration has directed nonprofits involved in a $20 billion Biden-era climate initiative to turn over records to the FBI and appear in federal court later this month, according to two people who were granted anonymity for fear of reprisal.
The move marks an escalation in the administration’s effort to claw back the climate money following its assertions that the Environmental Protection Agency had sought to evade oversight by depositing the $20 billion in Citibank accounts in the waning days of President Joe Biden’s term.
Legal Battle Over Climate Funds
The fight is part of a larger power struggle kicked off by President Donald Trump’s attempts to unravel his predecessor’s spending decisions — even when that runs afoul of the actions of previous Congresses and funding that agencies have contractually obligated.
At least two groups that had been awarded shares of the funding through EPA’s Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund received letters this week from acting U.S. Attorney Ed Martin in Washington, directing them to turn over the records to the FBI within two weeks, said the two people, who were familiar with the document demand.
Document Requests and Summons
The letters asked the groups for their communications with EPA staff and transactions related to the program. The letters also asked the organizations to provide copies of their articles of incorporation and policies and procedures for managing the grants.
The groups also received a summons to provide testimony in federal court later this month, the two people said.
The Justice Department and the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Washington declined to comment. Citibank did not respond to a request for comment.
Allegations of Fraud
EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin has been targeting the groups for weeks as part of his effort to take back the $20 billion awarded through the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund. He has claimed without providing evidence that the program is afflicted by fraud, a legal threshold that program supporters say would be needed for the administration to claw back the money from Citibank.
Trump elevated the issue in his address to Congress on Tuesday, singling out part of the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund as an example of “appalling waste.”
Congressional Appropriation and EPA Actions
Congress had appropriated the $20 billion in 2022 under Biden’s sweeping climate law, the Inflation Reduction Act, giving EPA until September 2024 to obligate the money. EPA met that deadline by depositing the money into accounts at Citibank in order to allow eight nonprofit recipients to gain access to it, as outlined in their contracts with the government.
The letters came after EPA sent the recipients its own records request Tuesday. That letter, signed by acting Deputy Director Chad McIntosh, included a list of 35 requests for documents, data and information that should be returned to the agency by March 28, according to a copy of the letter reviewed by POLITICO’s E&E News.
Challenges and Frozen Funds
Some of the groups noted that the information was already available to EPA through Citibank, which is administering the program for EPA and the Treasury Department. In some cases, the information also appears on EPA’s own website.
The Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund was intended to expand finance for renewable energy projects and climate-friendly transportation and building programs, particularly in low-income communities. Citibank accounts containing the balance of the grants have been frozen since Feb. 18, prompting some of the groups to pay staff and cover operating expenses with borrowed money. At least one grant recipient has had to furlough workers.
