Former FEMA chief says video vindicates him

Former Federal Emergency Management Director Michael Brown said on Thursday he feels vindicated by a video showing him in a conference with U.S. President George W. Bush and other officials warning them about the dangers posed by Hurricane Katrina.

In an interview with FOX News Radio’s “The Tony Snow Show,” Brown said Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff owes him an apology for forcing him to stay in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, to conduct the agency’s response, rather than allow him to travel throughout the region devastated by the storm.

“I just don’t think that Chertoff gets it … he didn’t understand the importance of being in the field with your field personnel, finding out what do you need, what is or isn’t working, what can I do to break up the red tape,” Brown said. “When he confined me to Baton Rouge, he destined me to fail.”

Brown, who left the agency under a hail of criticism for his handling of the storm, said the video released by the Associated Press on Wednesday helps vindicate him.

“I’m still trying to get my reputation back because there’s still those who have in their minds the fact that I was not competent and didn’t know what I was doing,” he said. “Damn it, I knew what I was doing.”

A spokesman for Chertoff said the department had better things to do than respond to Brown’s request for an apology.

Russ Knocke, spokesman for the Department of Homeland Security, said the department was grappling with myriad issues including preparing for the start of the next hurricane season in June. “It’s really a waste of time to get into a response and counterresponse with Mike Brown,” Knocke said.

The video has launched a fresh round of criticism of the White House’s handling of the storm. A tape of a teleconference that included Bush and Chertoff shows weather service officials warning that the levees protecting New Orleans could be topped. The teleconference was on August 28, the day before Katrina struck.

The tape also shows Brown raising concerns about the Superdome that was being used as a shelter of last resort and concerns about whether enough disaster teams were in place to help evacuees.

The White House played down the significance of the video, saying that the material had been made public last year.

“President Bush participated in briefings, phone calls and conversations throughout this process, and his administration was focused on making sure that the federal assets were in place to help the people of New Orleans,” said White House spokesman Trent Duffy. “The president has made clear as recently as this Tuesday that he was not satisfied with the federal response.”

Democrats on Thursday cited the video to renew calls for an independent commission to examine the government’s response to the storm that killed about 1,300 people and destroyed about 300,000 homes.

Rep. Charlie Melancon, a Louisiana Democrat, said an independent panel would be able to get all of information and hold people accountable for the botched response.

Reuters