Dean: New Katrina Video Confirms Disturbing Pattern of Deception
Washington, DC - A new video released by the Associated Press of the briefing President Bush received days before Hurricane Katrina struck, contradicts statements the President later made in defense of his Administration's failed response. As Katrina hurled towards the Gulf Coast on a path that would eventually kill 1,300 Americans and leave hundreds of thousands stranded and their homes destroyed, federal officials met via video conference offering the President dire warnings about what was to come.
During the briefing, National Hurricane Center Director Max Mayfield told the President that the integrity of the levees was "a very very grave concern," which the President appears to have ignored. Just days later, the President misled the American people when he claimed that no one anticipated the failure of the levees that flooded New Orleans. [Knight-Ridder, 3/2/06] [AP, 3/2/06]
Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean issued the following statement on the Bush Administration's disturbing pattern of not telling the American people the truth:
"These latest revelations make two things perfectly clear: this President can't tell the truth to the American people, and this Republican Congress has failed to uphold its constitutional duty to hold him accountable. Republicans in Congress have consistently stonewalled Democrats' efforts to hold a thorough investigation of what happened in the run up to Hurricane Katrina, and during the disastrous federal response. No wonder there's a collapse in confidence in the Bush Administration and the Republicans in Washington. The American people know the President disregarded vital warnings, and later misled them about it. The message this video sends to the Republican leadership in Washington is that the facts will get out. Democrats will continue to fight to make sure that continues to happen, and to restore leadership in Washington that tells the American people the truth."
Americans are also being invited to watch the video and decide for themselves: http://www.democrats.org/katrinavideo
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TOP TEN BUSH DECEPTIONS
1: BUSH MISLED ABOUT TRUE COST OF
MEDICARE BILL
Bush Deception: Drug Bill Would Not Exceed $400 Billion
"Bush had pushed hard for the Medicare drug benefit, but said he would not sign anything that exceeded $400 billion," according to the Boston Globe. [Boston Globe, 1/30/04]
- Fact: Bush's Medicare Reform Will Cost Almost Double What He First Claimed
According to the Chicago Tribune, "The federal government plans to spend more than $700 billion during the next 10 years to provide drug coverage under Medicare as part of a landmark bill signed by President Bush in December 2003." Originally, Bush's prescription drug plan was to have cost $400 billion over 10 years.[Chicago Tribune, 2/26/06; Washington Post, 1/29/04]
- Fact: Bush Administration Intentionally Hid Cost of Plan To Win Votes in Congress
In late January 2004, the Administration announced they had underestimated the total cost of the package by $135 billion. Bush relied on a $400 billion figure for the first decade of the prescription drug benefit in persuading fiscal conservatives to support the plan last November. But less than two months after signing the legislation, and two years before the benefit becomes available to seniors, the Department of Health and Human Services revised the number up to $535 billion. According to the Washington Post, "Among a small group of lawmakers who negotiated the bill's final version, 'it was an open secret' that administration officials believed 'there is no way this is $400 billion.'" [New York Times, 1/30/04; Washington Times, 12/8/03; Washington Post, 1/31/04; Boston Globe, 1/30/04; New York Times, 2/2/04]
- Fact: Bush Administration Threatened to Fire Medicare Expert If He Revealed True Cost of Plan
Prior to the congressional vote on the Medicare prescription-drug plan, Richard S. Foster, the chief actuary for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, produced a $551 billion estimate for the bill which was at odds with Bush's publicly-proclaimed estimate. Foster sent an email to colleagues on June 26, 2003 stating that he would be fired if he revealed the higher estimate to lawmakers. [Knight Ridder, 3/11/04]
2: BUSH MISLED ABOUT SIZE OF BUDGET DEFICIT
Bush Deception: Budget Deficit Will Be Short-Term
Bush: "Our budget will run a deficit that will be small and short-term." [Bush, State of the Union, 2002]
- Fact: Deficit Will Be Largest In History and Will Exceed $400 Billion Every Year For Next Ten Years
The deficit will exceed $400 billion every year through 2014. By 2014, the deficit will reach $708 billion. At the same time the president renewed his call for Congress to make his tax cuts permanent even as his blueprint projected a widening of the federal deficit to $423 billion this year. [Congressional Budget Office, 1/26/04, 2/27/04; Center on Budget & Policy Priorities, 1/21/04, 2/1/04; Reuters, 2/6/06]
Bush Deception: He Promised to Lock Up Social Security Surplus
Bush: "In my economic plan, more than $2 trillion of the federal surplus is locked away for Social Security. For years, politicians in both parties have dipped into the Trust Fund to pay for more spending. And I will stop it." [Bush Speech, Rancho Cucamongo Senior Center, "A Defining American Promise," 5/15/00]
- Fact: Bush Budget Spends Entire $2.6 Trillion Social Security Trust Fund
Bush will spend the entire $2.6 trillion on-budget (Social Security) surplus over ten years. USA Today reported, "The White House is backing away from its pledge to protect every cent of Social Security reserves in the face of a report today that the government is tapping Social Security taxes for other programs." [CBO, An Analysis of the President's Budgetary Proposals for 2004, Table 1, 3/7/03, http://www.cbo.gov; USA Today, 8/28/01]
3: BUSH MISLED ABOUT IMPACT OF TAX CUTS ON BUDGET DEFICITS
Bush Deception: Tax Cuts Will Not Lead to Budget Deficits
Bush: "Tax relief is central to my plan to encourage economic growth, and we can proceed with tax relief without fear of budget deficits, even if the economy softens." [Bush Remarks at Western Michigan University, 3/27/01]
- Fact: Bush Posted Deficits Due Largely to Tax Cuts
In 2002, due largely to Bush's tax cuts, the federal government posted a deficit of $158 billion and returned to deficit for the first time since 1997. In 2004, Bush's three tax cuts over as many years reduced revenues by $270 billion. Over 35 percent of the $9.9 trillion deterioration from 2002-2011 is due to Bush's tax cuts. By 2014, tax cuts will account for 40 percent of the deterioration. Despite Bush's claims to the contrary, only 6 percent of the $477 billion deficit in 2004 is due to the lackluster economy. [Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, 10/21/03; Congressional Budget Office, 3/04; CBO, Historical Budget Data, Table 1 http://www.cbo.gov; Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, 10/27/03]
4: BUSH MISLED ABOUT THREAT OF IRAQ'S NUCLEAR WEAPONS
Bush Deception: Iraq Posed a Nuclear Threat
Bush: "Facing clear evidence of peril, we cannot wait for the final proof, the smoking gun that could come in the form of a mushroom cloud." [Bush Remarks, Cincinnati OH, 10/7/02]
- Fact: Saddam Did Not Have Chief Requirements For Nuclear Weapons
The Washington Post reported, "What Hussein did not have was the principal requirement for a nuclear weapon, a sufficient quantity of highly enriched uranium or plutonium. And the U.S. government, authoritative intelligence officials said, had only circumstantial evidence that Iraq was trying to obtain those materials." Inspectors in postwar Iraq have "found the former nuclear weapons program, described as a 'grave and gathering danger' by President Bush and a 'mortal threat' by Vice President Cheney, in much the same shattered state left by U.N. inspectors in the 1990s." [Washington Post, 8/10/03, 1/7/04]
5: BUSH MISLED, SAID "W.M.D." WERE FOUND
Bush Deception: Weapons of Mass Destruction Found
"In an interview with Polish television on May 30, Mr. Bush cited the trailers [found in postwar Iraq] as evidence that the United States had 'found the weapons of mass destruction' it was looking for." [New York Times, 6/26/03]
- Fact: State Department Said Bush Rushed To Judgment
The New York Times reported, "The State Department's intelligence division is disputing the Central Intelligence Agency's conclusion that mysterious trailers found in Iraq were for making biological weapons, United States government officials said today. In a classified June 2 [2003] memorandum, the officials said, the department's Bureau of Intelligence and Research said it was premature to conclude that the trailers were evidence of an Iraqi biological weapons program, as President Bush has done.Administration officials said the State Department agency was given no warning that the C.I.A. report was being produced, or made public." [New York Times, 6/26/03]
6: BUSH MISLED ABOUT IRAQ'S SUPPOSED PURCHASE OF URANIUM FROM AFRICA
Bush Deception: Claimed Saddam Was Purchasing Uranium From Africa
Bush: "The British government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa." [Bush, State of the Union, 1/28/03]
- Fact: White House Repeatedly Warned Not To Cite Niger Report
In March 2002, both the CIA and State Department learned that evidence linking Iraq to Niger was unfounded. In October, CIA Director Tenet personally intervened with Condoleezza Rice's deputy National Security Advisor to have the charge removed from Bush's speech to the nation. Rice herself was sent a memo debunking the claim. In January, just days before Bush uttered the false charge CIA officials tried again to remove the language, but the White House insisted it remain-with added the caveat that they had received the information from British sources. [Bush, State of the Union, 1/28/03; Time, 7/21/03 Issue; Hadley/Bartlett Gaggle, 7/22/03; New York Times, 7/13/03; Washington Post, 7/20/03; NPR, 6/19/03]
- Fact: Three Separate Reports Debunked Niger Transaction Prior to State of the Union
When asked about Bush's claim in the State of the Union, Former Ambassador Joseph Wilson, who had been charged by the Bush Administration to investigate the possibility of the Niger transaction, said, "I believed, at the time [I] effectively debunked the Niger arms uranium sale." Ambassador Wilson also noted that Barbro Owens-Kirkpatrick, US Ambassador to Niger, and her staff had already concluded the intelligence was false by the time he arrived in the country. The U.S. embassy had alerted Washington of those conclusions. Separately, Four-Star Marine Gen. Carlton W. Fulford Jr. had met with Niger president in February 2002 to check the security of the country's uranium. Fulford reported that he was "convinced it was not an issue," and passed his findings to Gen. Richard B. Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs. [Washington Post, 7/15/03; Joseph Wilson Op-Ed, New York Times, 7/6/03; The New Republic, 6/30/03; Nicholas Kristoff Op-Ed, New York Times, 6/13/03; The New Yorker, 3/31/03; NBC "Meet the Press," 7/6/03]
7: BUSH MISLED ABOUT HIS KNOWLEDGE IN THE DAYS FOLLOWING KATRINA
Bush Deception: No One Could Have Anticipated The Breach Of The Levees
"I don't think anybody anticipated the breach of the levees. They did anticipate a serious storm, but these levees got breached. And as a result, much of New Orleans is flooded, and now we're having to deal with it and will." [ABC, 9/1/05]
- Fact: Bush Was Warned Of Breach On Video Conference.
Recently released video and transcripts of a video conference, called into question Bush's assertion that no one could have anticipated the problems caused by Hurricane Katrina. According to The Associated Press, the transcripts showed that Bush was warned by the head of the National Hurricane Center about the potential for breached levees. The transcripts also show that FEMA Director Michael Brown warned the participants that the Super Dome was under water and could become a "catastrophe within a catastrophe." [AP, 3/2/06]
8: BUSH MISLED ABOUT HIS RELATIONSHIP WITH JACK ABRAMOFF
Bush Deception: I Did Not Know Abramoff
You're asking about pictures. I had my picture taken with him, evidently. I've had my picture taken with a lot of people. Having my picture taken with someone doesn't mean that I'm a friend with him or know him very well. . My point is, I mean, there's thousands of people that come through and get their pictures taken. [Bush Press Conference, 1/26/06]
- Fact: Bush Met With Abramoff At Least A Dozen Times
In emails between Abramoff and Washingtonian Magazine editor, Kim Eisler, Abramoff described his relationship with Bush, claiming to have met with Bush on almost a dozen occasions, even turning down one invitation to Bush's ranch in Crawford, Texas. Abramoff's account directly contradicted the claims of White House Press Secretary, Scott McClellan and Bush when asked about the White House's relationship with the former Republican Lobbyist. In his email Abramoff wrote, "he has one of the best memories of any politician i have ever met. it was one if [sic] his trademarks, though of course he can't recall that he has a great memory! the guy saw me in almost a dozen settings, and joked with me about a bunch of things, including details of my kids. perhaps he has forgotten everything. who knows." [Los Angeles Times, 2/22/06]
- Fact: Photograph Shows Bush At Meeting With His Clients, Bush, And Rove At The White House
"Now, finally, the first such photo has come to light. It shows a bearded Abramoff in the background as Bush greets an Abramoff client, Raul Garza, who was then the chairman of the Kickapoo Traditional Tribe of Texas; Bush senior advisor Karl Rove looks on. The photograph was provided to TIME by Mr. Garza. The meeting took place in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building adjacent to the White House on May 9, 2001." [Time, 2/11/06]
- Fact: Abramoff Arranged Meeting For Malaysian Leader With Bush Through Rove.
"Three former business associates of Abramoff, who worked with the lobbyist in various roles between 2001 and 2004, told The Associated Press that Abramoff routinely mentioned Rove when talking about his influence inside the White House. One said he was present when Abramoff took a call from Rove's office to confirm a White House meeting had been approved between Malaysia's prime minister and Bush in May 2002. Abramoff was being paid by Malaysia for helping it in Washington, according to evidence the Senate has made public." [AP, 2/15/06]
9: BUSH MISLED ABOUT WILLINGNESS TO INVESTIGATE 9-11
Bush Deception: He Promised to Provide Full Information About 9-11
Bush: "We must uncover every detail and learn every lesson September the 11th." [Bush 11/27/02]
- Fact: Bush Initially Opposed Independent 9-11 Commission
Bush opposed an independent inquiry into 9/11, arguing it would duplicate a probe conducted by Congress. In July 2002, his administration issued a "statement of policy" that read ".the Administration would oppose an amendment that would create a new commission to conduct a similar review [to Congress's investigation]." [Statement of Administration Policy, Executive Office of the President, 7/24/02; Los Angeles Times, 11/28/02
- Fact: Bush Stonewalled 9-11 Commission
The independent bipartisan 9-11 commission first threatened to subpoena daily intelligence reports from the White House before an agreement was finally struck. The renewed threat of a subpoena results from the White House's refusal to let three members of the commission share their notes on the information with the seven others. The White House has cited executive privilege. "'Angry' is not the right word," the panel's chairman, Thomas H. Kean, former Republican governor of New Jersey, said in describing his recent negotiations with the White House over access to the notes. "'Frustrated' might be a better word. We feel as a commission -- unanimously, I think -- that all commissioners are equal, that they should all have the same information." [New York Times, 2/5/04]
10: BUSH MISLED ABOUT BEING A UNITER
Bush Deception: He is a Uniter
Bush: "I'm a uniter not a divider." [Austin American-Statesman, 7/30/00]
- Fact: He is a Divider
The Washington Post reported, "As Bush begins the final year of his term with Tuesday night's State of the Union address, partisans on both sides say the tone of political discourse is as bad as ever -- if not worse." One senior administration official said, Bush could have built "trust and goodwill" by pursuing more broadly appealing initiatives. One former Bush aide said the White House "relished the 'us versus them' thing." [Washington Post, 1/18/04]
- Fact: Bush Officials Leaked CIA Agent's Name for Revenge
After former Ambassador Joseph Wilson publicly challenged Bush's claim that Iraq sought uranium in Africa, his wife--a covert CIA operative--was exposed by columnist Robert Novak. Novak said her identity was given to him by senior administration officials. "A senior administration official said that before Novak's column ran, two top White House officials called at least six Washington journalists and disclosed the identity and occupation of Wilson's wife... 'Clearly, it was meant purely and simply for revenge,' the senior official said of the alleged leak. Sources familiar with the conversations said the leakers were seeking to undercut Wilson's credibility." [Washington Post, 9/28/03]
- Fact: Bush Ordered Partisan Attacks on Daschle
Bush called on senior White House advisers and the Republican Party leadership to wage attacks against Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle. According to the Washington Times, "The White House is escalating its attacks against Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle... [W]ith polls showing the Republican Party is losing some support in its handling of the economy, President Bush last week ordered senior advisers to take the gloves off and sharpen their rhetoric." [Washington Times, 12/7/01]
