John Wooden, an unbiased candidate for Congress in Missouri, beforehand ran the botched Division of Homeland Safety response to Hurricane Katrina.
Wooden was additionally the senior investigative counsel on the Home Choose Committee Investigating January 6 and is a detailed affiliate of outgoing Rep. Liz Cheney.
In February 2005, John Wooden joined DHS because the division’s Chief of Workers.
Throughout Hurricane Katrina, Wooden obtained an eyewitness account of a levee failure (despatched on to him in an electronic mail). As an alternative of responding shortly, Wooden failed to tell his bosses or reply with the Division the place he led “day-to-day enterprise.”
In keeping with a report from the New York Occasions on the catastrophe, Wooden led “what’s universally agreed to be a flawed authorities response to the worst pure catastrophe in trendy American historical past.”
On August 29, 2005, Wooden was knowledgeable by The Federal Emergency Administration Company (FEMA) that the levees broke and that there was severe flooding, fires, and different points.
In an electronic mail message from the company’s public affairs employees to Wooden, obtained by the Occasions, he was knowledgeable that there was “in depth flooding and extra stranded individuals than that they had thought.”
“FYI from FEMA,” stated the e-mail. “Situations are way more severe than media reviews are at the moment reflecting. Discovering in depth flooding and extra stranded individuals than that they had thought — additionally a variety of fires.”
The next day, regardless of having this info, Wooden didn’t act and probably save the lives of many being hit by Katrina. He additionally stored his superiors in the dead of night about how dangerous the state of affairs actually was in New Orleans.
That day, President George W. Bush stated that he was feeling relieved that New Orleans had “dodged the bullet,” as a result of Wooden failed to offer him important info, the New York Occasions reported.
Secretary Chertoff, John Wooden’s direct boss, equally felt assured and flew Tuesday to Atlanta for a briefing on avian flu.
In actuality, the levees had been damaged and the complete metropolis was being flooded. Individuals had been stranded on their rooftops, many had been dying, looting was going down, and fires had been raging.
By September 4, 2005, Wooden was persevering with to cowl up details about when the levees truly broke.
Wooden’s boss, Secretary Michael Chertoff, continued to insist that the levee didn’t break on Monday, the Occasions reported.
“The hurricane began to depart the world on Monday, after which Tuesday morning the levee broke and the water began to flood into New Orleans,” Chertoff stated on CBS’s “Face the Nation.”
In February 2006, a Congressional investigation revealed that John Wooden hid the levee break.
In keeping with a statement from america Authorities Accountability Workplace, the delay brought on by Wooden resulted in DHS failing to declare Katrina as a catastrophic occasion, which didn’t set off applicable sources.
In the end, 1,833 individuals misplaced their lives — many, as a result of botched response.
As an alternative of hiding his face in disgrace or being held accountable for this lethal failure, Wooden as an alternative believes that he needs to be trusted to signify the individuals of Missouri.
Wooden can be dealing with off in opposition to Republican Legal professional Basic Eric Schmitt and Democrat Trudy Busch Valentine in November.
Schmitt is Missouri’s forty third Legal professional Basic and was an enormous supporter of Trump’s insurance policies throughout his presidency.
In keeping with his website, “Eric was the primary Legal professional Basic to sue China to carry them accountable for unleashing the coronavirus on People. When Fb was canceling conservatives and Google was utilizing their platform to harm customers and companies, Eric filed a lawsuit and launched an enormous antitrust probe to cease Large Tech abuses. When voter integrity got here into query, Eric authored and led the temporary supporting the Pennsylvania Republican Social gathering in opposition to the unconstitutional actions of the Pennsylvania courts, and he authored and led a short in help of Texas’ lawsuit in opposition to Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin earlier than america Supreme Courtroom, the place 17 different states to joined him.”
Schmitt has additionally been fearless in taking up the Biden administration to carry them “accountable, defend the Structure and the America First Agenda.”
“He has been on the entrance strains of each combat President Biden has waged in opposition to our jobs, our freedoms, and our security. When President Biden canceled the Keystone XL Pipeline and 1000’s of jobs with it, Eric demanded it’s reinstated and filed swimsuit. When President Biden and John Kerry circumvented the Structure to set a ‘social value’ on greenhouse gases, a transfer that might value not 1000’s however thousands and thousands of jobs, destroy the vitality and agriculture industries, and decrease the usual of residing for working households, Eric instantly sued him,” his web site continues.
“When Joe Biden halted Operation Talon endangering American lives, Eric pushed again in opposition to President Biden, urging him to reverse his order.”
