However, it must be remembered that Whitman and the EPA
are accountable to the White House and act under the direct
authority of the Bush Administration.
It was the 2003 EPA Inspector General's investigation
that revealed that it was the White House that had pressured
EPA into changing its press releases to add more "reassuring"
language.
The further memos revealed that Whitman conspired with
the White House to falsely reassure New Yorkers
that the air was safe.
The New York Post also reported on the fact that the
internal documents show it was Condoleezza
Rice's office that gave final approval to
the infamous Environmental Protection Agency press releases
days after 9/11 claiming the air around Ground Zero was
"safe to breathe,".
Now Secretary of State, Rice was then head of the National
Security Council - "the final decision maker"
on EPA statements about lower Manhattan air quality, the
documents say.
And it cannot be forgotten that Rudolph
Guiliani, who was mayor at the time, also said repeatedly
that the air was safe.
Furthermore it has been the Bush Administration that
has PURPOSEFULLY
blocked millions in health compensation programs for
ground zero workers and continuously attempted to stonewall
the issue because to do otherwise would be an admission
of responsibility for exposure to harmful substances after
the government had already given the all clear. It has
been the Bush administration that has allowed 9/11 heroes
to die while at the same time disgracefully using the
event as a cart blanche excuse for their own criminal
actions at home and abroad.
It seems Whitman knew immediately that she was being
fingered as the ultimate scapegoat. When the new information
broke last September, she was quick
to blame the city for not forcing Ground Zero workers
to wear respirators.
In a "60 Minutes" interview, Whitman maintained
that the nation's leading environmental agency did not
have authority to enforce rules at the site, though the
agency did warn the city about dangers in the air at Ground
Zero.
"We didn't have the authority to do that enforcement,
but we communicated to the people who did," Whitman
stressed.
A 2004
report by the Sierra Club however detailed gross malfeasance
by EPA, FEMA, and the Occupational Safety & Health
Administration (OSHA) and then suggested a cover-up of
the public health hazards of Ground Zero ensued.
The report found that the EPA and FEMA, in concert with
New York City's own health department, told families that
they could clean up the contaminated dust themselves with
wet rags. In fact, they actually discouraged area residents
from wearing safety masks.
Some preliminary scientific studies have indicated that
as many as 400,000 people were exposed to toxic ground
zero dust. Hundreds and perhaps thousands of people have
fallen ill, and several have died from lung ailments blamed
on inhaled Trade Center ash.
Any probe into this issue that cannot establish
these basic conclusions and pinpoint those at fault AT
ALL LEVELS WITHIN THE GOVERNMENT will be highly suspicious.
It is blatantly clear that not only Whitman and her EPA
counterparts were complicit in a conspiracy and cover
up the environmental hazards at ground zero, but also
that high ranking officials with the Bush administration
are also complicit.
It is also apparent from reports that Whitman
had significant financial interests in the ground zero
site, which should also be investigated in addition to
the financial interests other officials complicit in this
diabolical case also had before and after 9/11.
The Nadler's hearing is scheduled for May 22,
Clinton's is set for June 20.
Related articles:
The former head of the Environmental Protection Agency,
who knowingly lied and signed off on falsified scientific
research on the toxicity of the air in the aftermath of
9/11, has refused a request by Rep. Jerrold Nadler that
she testify before a congressional hearing on the federal
government's response to be tabled later this month.
