Pensito Review � FEMA Staffer Blows Whistle on Brownie: "LISA MYERS, NBC CORRESPONDENT
(voice-over): Wednesday, August 31st, much of New Orleans is underwater. A FEMA official inside the Superdome sends an urgent Blackberry message to his boss, Director Michael Brown.
Marty Bahamonde, said to be Brown‘s eyes and ears within the city, writes: “The situation is past critical. Hotels are kicking people out. Thousands gathering in the streets with no food or water. Estimates are many will die within hours.”
Bahamonde tells Senate investigators, he doesn‘t remember getting a response to that e-mail but later was forwarded this one. Brown‘s press secretary [fretting] about Brown‘s dining plans for that evening. “It‘s very important that time is allowed for Mr. Brown to eat dinner, she writes, given that Baton Rouge is back to normal, restaurants are getting busy. He needs much more than 20 or 30 minutes.”
SEN. SUSAN COLLINS [(R)], MAINE: That is just appalling.
MYERS: Senator Susan Collins says Brown‘s inner circle seemingly failed to grasp the urgency of Bahamonde‘s warnings.
COLLILNS: There is this extraordinary disconnect between what he is reporting and the reaction back in Washington.
MYERS: Bahamonde expressed his frustration about the dinner e-mail writing: “Oh, my God!!!!!!!! Just tell her that I just ate MRE and went to the bathroom in the hallway of the Superdome along with 30,000 other close friends, so I understand her concern about busy restaurants.”
(on camera): Bahamonde also says officials at all levels of government failed to act on his early warnings that this key 17th Street levee had failed. He says local and FEMA officials had 16 hours to warn the public and no one sounded the alarm."
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