Former EPA Boss Didn’t Prove Wheeler Defamed Him, Court Rules

A district court judge in California has dismissed a defamation case filed by Michael Stoker, a former EPA regional administrator who was fired in February 2020.

Stoker hadn’t proven that allegedly defamatory statements against him fell outside the scope of four former Environmental Protection Agency officials’ employment, including past Administrator Andrew Wheeler, Judge John A. Kronstadt of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California ruled Thursday.

• Stoker oversaw EPA Region 9, which spans California, Arizona, Nevada, Hawaii, the Pacific Islands, and 148 tribes. He plans to appeal the ruling, said his attorney, Jordan Hankey of the Law ...