FEMA letters of reprimand

Posted: Monday, October 29, 2007 2:28 PM by Domenico Montanaro

From NBC's Kelly O'Donnell
An official at the Department of Homeland Security says "letters of reprimand" were drafted this weekend and placed in the personnel files of FEMA staffers involved in that controversial press conference.

Officials cited human resources regulations and would not say how many employees received these letters and what the nature of the reprimand is. Officials do not rule out additional measures. All those involved are said to be present at work today and aware of the reprimands.

According to officials, Admiral Harvey Johnson, FEMA's second in command, who was at the podium "had no knowledge" that there were no reporters present at the briefing Oct 23. Officials say Johnson did know that some FEMA staffers would be asking questions (he called on one by name).

Russ Knocke, of DHS, has been temporarily named Acting Director of External Affairs for FEMA. Another public affairs professional, Marty Bahamonde, has been called in to assist as they review press procedures and deal with this event.

No press conferences are scheduled at this time.

EMAIL THIS

Comments

'According to officials, Admiral Harvey Johnson, FEMA's second in command, who was at the podium "had no knowledge" that there were no reporters'

does anyone believe the good admiral's statement?

MK,MO (Sent Monday, October 29, 2007 2:43 PM)

LMAO...yeah sure Harvey, you didn't know they were your staffers...you thought it was your lucky day with all of those beachball questions eh?

Rick, WS, NC (Sent Monday, October 29, 2007 2:48 PM)

Dear first read,

The elephant and donkey on the top of your page are scary and creeping me out.

Please find friendlier mascots.

Alex, Detroit (Sent Monday, October 29, 2007 2:50 PM)

What a joke!!! They (Fema) pretended it was a press conference and there wasn't anyone from the press there! Just FEMA staffers with pre-arranged questions! The press wasn't even allowed to call in with questions! Heads should roll! I think it should be called FRAUD when they try and pretend there are press there!! It reminds me of the President's press conferences where the audience is stacked with Bush's supporters!

New Independent (Sent Monday, October 29, 2007 2:56 PM)

FEMA staffers received "letters of reprimand" (wink, wink) just as Admiral Johnson "had no knowledge" of the phoney press conference (wink, wink). What a crock!!!

Brian, Cedar Hill, TX (Sent Monday, October 29, 2007 2:58 PM)

Suppose they gave a press conference and there was no press there. Interesting concept. I bet Cheney wished he thought of this. This beats out Rumsfelds asking and answering his questions in the same breath. Shure avoids the embarassment of lying or not knowing.

Pacheck (Sent Monday, October 29, 2007 3:07 PM)

This is so laughable.
How can you expect these morons to run a clean and honest press conference when the man who's in charge of the whole show (Bush) can't/won't do it himself?

...and these letters of reprimand are a joke....They don't care, and they'll do it again if they get the chance.

J. Merle Stanley, Westchester, NY (Sent Monday, October 29, 2007 3:09 PM)

Yeah, no more informative news conferences for FEMA. From now on, only non-relevent questions from the press can be asked.

Glenn Jenkins (Sent Monday, October 29, 2007 3:18 PM)

The reprimand was for getting caught; the only real sin in the Bush administration.

nuanced (Sent Monday, October 29, 2007 3:29 PM)

The sick, slick, sham of the bush terror crowd. We need someone to find away to make them all vanish.
No faking just impeach!

IMPEACH THE BUSH AND CHENEY (Sent Monday, October 29, 2007 3:41 PM)

"The reprimand was for getting caught; the only real sin in the Bush administration. "

Not if you're attached to Cheney's penis, like Scooter.

Glenn- quite possibly the most stupid, fascist statement I've read on this blog. Congratulations.

Hurky Jerkin' (Sent Monday, October 29, 2007 3:44 PM)

The people in charge at FEMA didn't do anything that bush wouldn't have done himself. Remember this whole administration and all offices under it is totally corrupt. Lying to us is just what they do.

Blue state baby (Sent Monday, October 29, 2007 3:56 PM)

How about "Letters of Termination" for the whole bunch? And Include Bush and Cheney.

R.Merrell (Sent Monday, October 29, 2007 4:00 PM)

Were these real letters of reprimand or blank sheets of paper pretending to be letters of reprimand?

Dot, Illinois (Sent Monday, October 29, 2007 4:04 PM)

Once you get past the pert little nose and the red hair of O'Donnell you can plainly see she is as empty-headed as the folks at FEMA. Just another bushie.

redhairexcitesme (Sent Monday, October 29, 2007 4:12 PM)

Probably AFGE members, and nasty letter is all they're allowed to do.

Dave, Tn (Sent Monday, October 29, 2007 4:17 PM)

I guess if FEMA says they put the letters of reprimand in the staffers' personnel files that really means they will be put in the files sometime next summer. Or later. Or maybe they will be lost. Or perhaps they will be congratulatory letters. Or maybe they'll be put in other staffers' files. Who knows? When will FEMA learn?

Jane, Souther Mississippi (Sent Monday, October 29, 2007 4:42 PM)

This is getting funnier than Cloberts campaign What is funnier is that the saudi King just accused Great Britain of not doing enough about terroism, everyone is trying to get in on the act. Comedy is King!!!!
Freddie Thompson,FEMA and King Abdullah should all find an agent in Hollywood, we need more comedians, to replace the bad ones like that guy from
'the office' who has so many bad movies with very little comedy.
Help, the patients are running BEDLAM!!!!

Lennie Bruce. laughing in heaven (Sent Monday, October 29, 2007 6:09 PM)

Washington needs to go. All parties, all lobbyists, all bureaucrats. We need change people.

Otto V, DT MI (Sent Monday, October 29, 2007 7:40 PM)

FEMA needed the 'real' press there. Who else is going to tell us who to blame.

Henry Ellerd, Springfield Missouri (Sent Monday, October 29, 2007 8:30 PM)

FEMA has been doing pretty well since its changes in leadership and if the press doesn't want to come to a FEMA briefing, oh well. But if the press wasn't there, how did the brief get on the news? Somebody must have been there to film it and distribute it. I have no sympathy for the press, they make the "news" what they want it to be. FEMA had a good story they wanted heard and the press didn't want to hear it. So they did it themselves. Suck it up and quit crying, national press, and show up next time to ask relevant questions.

Don, VA (Sent Tuesday, October 30, 2007 7:49 AM)

Business as usual in the Bush administration. It would be easier to ask what about them ISN'T staged, faked, distorted or spun.

Glenn, please write a thank-you note to Don, VA. He knocked you right out of first place for the stupid statement contest. Don, nobody had to be there to film and distribute the "press conference." That system is in place 24/7, ya think? It's called a "feed."

Barbara Anderson, Houston (Sent Tuesday, October 30, 2007 9:18 AM)

Personally, and based on what little we all ACTUALLY know, I might tend to agree with the general tone of the thread. But, without more REAL evidence, we are making harsh condemnations of fellow human beings based pretty much on hearsay and our own political agenda. I really do want to see the actual and irrefutable evidence that the old Admiral WASN'T blindsided, because without such, all I would be doing is jumping like a blind fool on the Bush bashing bandwagon.

Jim Who Lost His Home In Katrina, Biloxi, Mississippi (Sent Sunday, November 25, 2007 12:52 PM)

SEND A COMMENT

PLEASE READ: All comments must be approved before appearing in the thread; time and space constraints prevent all comments from appearing. We will only approve comments that are directly related to the blog, use appropriate language and are not attacking the comments of others.

Message (please, no HTML tags. Web addresses will be hyperlinked):

Your name, city and state (John Doe, Seattle, Wash.):

Your e-mail address (jdoe@msnbc.com):

Your website (it's okay if you don't have one):

Remember me? (We'll keep it private) Remember me?

TRACKBACKS

Trackbacks are links to weblogs that reference this post. Like comments, trackbacks do not appear until approved by us. The trackback URL for this post is: http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/trackback.aspx?PostID=436308