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Chertoff Rips Phony Press Event
Saturday October 27, 2007 7:46 PM
By DEVLIN BARRETT
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) - The homeland security chief on Saturday lashed into his own employees for staging a phony news conference at the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
``I think it was one of the dumbest and most inappropriate things I've seen since I've been in government,'' Michael Chertoff said.
``I have made unambiguously clear, in Anglo-Saxon prose, that it is not to ever happen again and there will be appropriate disciplinary action taken against those people who exhibited what I regard as extraordinarily poor judgment,'' he added.
Asked specifically if he planned to fire anyone at FEMA, which is part of his department, Chertoff declined to say, citing personnel rules.
``There will be appropriate discipline,'' he told reporters at a news conference with New York's governor where they announced an agreement on a driver's license plan.
Chertoff said he knew nothing about the matter until after it happened and that he ``can't explain why it happened.''
The White House on Friday scolded FEMA for the faux press conference about assistance to victims of wildfires in southern California.
The agency - much maligned for its sluggish response to Hurricane Katrina over two years ago - arranged to have FEMA employees play the part of reporters at the event Tuesday and question Vice Adm. Harvey E. Johnson, the deputy director.
The questions were soft and gratuitous.
``I'm very happy with FEMA's response,'' Johnson said in reply to one query from an agency employee.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/s ... 55,00.html
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Here is Keith Olbermann's take of that press conference

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_0kuQZNirI