Why Is The Corpse Witholding A Critical Report??

Dear New Orleanians and those interested in our city,

Some of you may know that the new head of the Corps, General Van Antwerp, is in New Orleans today, and has a press conference scheduled for 4 PM.

Some of you may also know that the Corps has had an internal investigation of the design, installation and operation of the floodgate pumps underway since last September. In a May 2, 2007 letter to Senator David Vitter, now-retired Corps Commander General Strock publicly revealed the existence of this investigation. He said the investigation would be complete sometime during May. He also said the investigation would be turned over to the GAO so that their inquiry would be robust.

Today is May 31. The Corps internal investigation has not been released. It has not been turned over to GAO, who issued their findings last week. If GAO had received the Corps internal investigation, they would have mentioned it, but they didn’t. They never got it, because the Corps didn’t turn it over to them.

Now it appears the Corps is not going to release it until Van Antwerp has a chance to see it. Back channel sources are telling me the delay is also to avoid embarrassing Van Antwerp during his visit to New Orleans. Tomorrow is hurricane season. The citizens of New Orleans deserve much more than political games by Corps Public Affairs Officers. If there is something deeply damaging to the Corps in the report (and my money is on “Yes,” or else it would have come out by now or it would have been turned over to GAO before their May 15th deadline), everyone needs to see it, now.

If any of you know anyone who is to attend this afternoon’s 4 PM press conference with Gen. Van Antwerp, I beg you to have them ask hard about this internal report, and why the Corps feels it is more important to withhold potentially embarrassing information rather than informing the citizens who depend upon their work.

Matt McBride