On Aug. 29, as Hurricane Katrina was striking the Gulf Coast, then-FEMA Director Mike Brown had a lot on his mind. Unfortunately, very little of his thoughts were on emergency management.
E-mails sent as Hurricane Katrina raged reveal that FEMA’s then-director, Michael Brown, discussed his clothing and his need for a dog sitter but left unanswered urgent messages. […]
* Aug. 29, 7:19 a.m., Cindy Taylor, FEMA deputy director of public affairs to Brown, about his shirt as he appeared on NBC’s Today: “My eyes must certainly be deceiving me. You look fabulous — and I’m not talking the makeup.”
Brown, 7:52 a.m.: “I got it at Nordsstroms … Are you proud of me? Can I quit now? Can I go home?”
* Aug. 30, 10:52 p.m. Brown to assistant Tillie James: “Do you know of anyone who dog-sits?”
* Sept. 2, 8:37 a.m. Brown to acquaintance Betty Guhman, on his pre-Katrina plans to leave FEMA: “Last hurrah was supposed to have been Labor Day. I’m trapped now, please rescue me.”
Keep a few things in mind. One, while “Brownie” responded to emails about his appearance, an email he received offering critical medical equipment got no response for four days. Two, this clown is not only still on the FEMA payroll; he recently got a contract extension.
And three, there may be other similarly damaging emails out there, but the White House has been slow to cooperate with congressional requests.
A House committee investigating the response to Katrina released about 1,000 e-mails as members complained that the Bush administration had failed to provide copies of communications among high-level officials, including White House chief of staff Andy Card and Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff.
Deputy White House press secretary Trent Duffy said, “The White House staff is working on that information collection.”
Sure, Trent, we know how much this administration loves to cooperate with these kinds of requests.