MICHAEL D. BROWN DECLARED ON THE DAY HURRICANE KATRINA STRUCK ... "I AM A FASHION GOD"
WASHINGTON, Nov. 2 - The Republican who heads a Congressional panel investigating the federal government's response to Hurricane Katrina complained Wednesday that the Bush administration had failed to turn over documents the panel requested weeks ago.
The official, Representative Thomas M. Davis III of Virginia, chairman of the House Committee on Government Reform, also threatened to issue subpoenas to compel administration officials to release the documents if they did not comply with the committee's request.
"Our time is short for conducting our investigation," Mr. Davis said. "We are not going to be stonewalled here. I will continue to press the administration for full compliance with our requests as soon as possible."
The documents in question are e-mail and other correspondence between officials in the White House and other agencies during the response to the hurricane, as well as agency documents dealing with specific preparations for and responses to Hurricane Katrina. The panel requested the documents on Sept. 30.
..... In the meantime, a Democrat on the committee, Representative Charles Melancon of Louisiana, released a series of e-mail messages that had been turned over to the committee. They were communications between Michael D. Brown, then the director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, his subordinates and others.
... On Wednesday, Mr. Melancon seized on Mr. Brown's e-mail exchanges to portray him as an official who was more preoccupied with trivial matters than with the disaster occurring on the Gulf Coast.
"Few of his e-mails demonstrated leadership or a command of the challenges facing his agency," said a report detailing the messages that committee staff members prepared at the request of Mr. Melancon
In an e-mail message sent on Aug. 29, the day the hurricane struck, Mr. Brown exchanged messages about his attire with Cindy Taylor, deputy director of public affairs at the agency, according to the report.
"My eyes must be deceiving me," Ms. Taylor wrote to him, apparently referring to public appearances he had made. "You look FABULOUS - and I'm not talking about the makeup."
Mr. Brown, in turn, responded: "I got it at Nordstroms ... Are you proud of me?" An hour later, he added: "If you'll look at my lovely FEMA attire you'll really vomit. I am a fashion god."
"Panel Still Waiting for Hurricane Katrina Papers"
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/03/politics/03response.html