A promotion after FEMA’s fake press conference?

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As everyone no doubt heard last week, FEMA held a press conference on Tuesday about the agency’s response to the wildfires in Southern California. Vice Adm. Harvey Johnson, the deputy administrator of FEMA, fielded one softball question after another, not because the reporters were lazy, but because the questions didn’t come from reporters at all — FEMA’s “press” conference featured questions from FEMA employees pretending to be journalists.

On Friday, this caused quite a stir, with even the White House criticizing the agency’s handling of the matter, and FEMA issuing a formal apology on Friday afternoon.

Over the weekend, though, the controversy took an unexpected turn when John “Pat” Philbin, FEMA’s director of external affairs and one of the fake reporters asking questions at the press conference, announced he was stepping down from his position. It was a startling surprise — a Bush administration official quitting after getting caught screwing up? That’s not the Bush m.o. at all.

But the White House was anxious to make it seem that way. FEMA Director David Paulison told CNN that Philbin’s exit was an example of “disciplinary action.”

It wasn’t. As it turned out, Philbin was already headed out — and actually moving up the administration’s ladder.

Philbin’s last scheduled day at FEMA was Thursday. He has been named as the new head of public affairs at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, ODNI spokeswoman Vanee Vines said.

That’s more like it. Stage a fraudulent press conference, get a promotion. He wasn’t thrown under the bus for screwing up; he was already on his way to a new bus when the story broke. There was no “disciplinary action.”

http://www.thecarpetbaggerreport.com/

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Only in America..and the former Soviet Union

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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The man who oversaw public affairs at the Federal Emergency Management Agency when it held a fake news conference last week will no longer be taking over as head of public relations for the director of national intelligence.

Pat Philbin won't be taking over as head of public relations for the director of national intelligence.

As of Sunday, officials only said that they were aware of concerns.

But Monday, the director of national intelligence office issued this statement: "We do not normally comment on personnel matters. However, we can confirm that Mr. Philbin is not, nor is he scheduled to be, the director of public affairs for the office of the director of national intelligence."

FEMA Director David Paulison said Philbin sent him an e-mail in which he took full responsibility for last week's staging of the news conference.

FEMA, part of the Department of Homeland Security, called a news conference Tuesday in Washington on the agency's handling of the California wildfires.

The agency said no media representatives showed up because the conference was announced at the last minute. Instead, reporters called in on a phone line but couldn't ask questions.

The agency released a video of the conference with FEMA employees asking less than hard-hitting questions.

Deputy Director Harvey Johnson, who was fielding questions, gave no indication at the time that staff members were asking the questions.

He later apologized, calling the fake briefing an "error in judgment."

"I am calling to apologize and say it will not happen again," Paulison said in a phone call to CNN.

He said rules are changing to prevent any reoccurrence. Reporters will be given at least an hour's warning before a press conference and those calling in will be able to ask questions in the future, he said.

Paulison said he is continuing to investigate. He said he understands that FEMA officials did not plan to ask questions and did so only when reporters failed to appear.

Disciplinary action is being taken against some FEMA employees, he said.

Another official said that reprimands have been issued and more may be coming.

Johnson "really didn't have an awareness" of what was taking place, according to Paulison. The FEMA director said Johnson wasn't familiar with everyone in the press office and did not recognize staffers asking questions.

"He just feels sick about it," Paulison said. "He feels his credibility has been hurt."

However, reporters noted that Johnson called on at least one person by name.

FEMA generally received high marks for its response to the California wildfires after fierce criticism over its handling of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, but Paulison said he was sure the conference flap has had a bad effect on morale.

"The last two years of planning for a major disaster fell in place," Paulison said. "Things were working as they were supposed to ... and that just killed everything you tried to have happen."

The head of homeland security also has blasted the fake news briefing and said those behind it showed "extraordinarily poor judgment."

"I think it was one of the dumbest and most inappropriate things I've ever seen since I've been in government," Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said Saturday.

The White House said it was unaware of the briefing beforehand.

"It is not a practice that we would employ here at the White House," said press secretary Dana Perino. "We certainly don't condone it."

http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/10/29/fem...wser/index.html