Should Diesel Mechanic Be Pardoned? Zeldin Says His Opinion Is For The President

CHEYENNE — If EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin thinks President Donald Trump should pardon a Cheyenne mechanic in prison for removing federally mandated emissions controls from diesel engines, he’s not saying so publicly.

Zeldin was at the Wyoming Capitol on Thursday to sign a letter of support to give the state control of its Coal Combustion Residuals Program.

Two-thirds of the members of the Wyoming House of Representatives (41 legislators) sent a signed letter dated Tuesday to the Trump administration urging a pardon for Troy Lake, 65.

Lake was prosecuted by the EPA under the Biden administration, and his family, some state lawmakers and others are petitioning Trump for a pardon, claiming he was made a scapegoat over working around a bad regulation.

Emissions controls — mandated by federal and some state laws — recirculate, chemically convert or burn diesel exhaust waste in the name of environmental safety.  

They also hamper, and in some cases cripple or incinerate, diesel engines, leveling dramatic repair costs against the transportation industry, trucking company owners told Cowboy State Daily in July.

Lake deleted or helped delete those controls more than 344 times between 2007 and 2020, according to testimony from his sentencing hearing.

Now a convicted felon, he was sentenced to a year and a day in prison and fined more than $52,000.

He’s Investigated

Asked by Cowboy State Daily for his position on the push to pardon Lake, Zeldin said he’s aware of the growing sentiment on Lake’s behalf.

“Any thoughts that I have to share will be shared with the president directly,” Zeldin said. “If the decision is made where I’m asked to speak publicly about what I share with the president privately, I will do so.”

He said that doesn’t mean a pardon is off his radar.

“I’m aware of this particular request, I have asked questions and have all my facts so that if there is a discussion to be had with the president that I’d be prepared for when that happens,” Zeldin said.

He elaborated, saying he’s had discussions with his team about the issue “to get my own facts and my own answers.

“But as for my opinion on it, and really my opinion on any of these decisions (about pardons), I’m not going to be ever advocating publicly — with all due respect — to the media before I share that opinion first and foremost with the president.”

The Letter

In the letter to Trump, the Wyoming legislators express concern that the prosecution was used as a political statement.

“It concerns me greatly that an unelected agency full of unelected people is able to give this gentleman a felony conviction,” House Speaker Neiman previously told Cowboy State Daily, referring to EPA’s significant role and discretion in the case. “That should scare all of us. Don’t make the agency mad.”

Lake’s wife Holly Lake told Cowboy State Daily on Tuesday that she’s grateful and overwhelmed by Neiman and others’ support.

U.S. Sen. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyoming, also voiced support this month for a presidential pardon in the Lake case. She was at Thursday’s event with Zeldin but didn’t weigh in on the question about the pardon.

Greg Johnson can be reached at greg@cowboystatedaily.com.