Congressmen Request Special Counsel, Criminal Investigation EPA's CT Whitman

[Guest guest]

CONGRESSMAN

JERROLD NADLER

8th Congressional District of New York

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Amy Rutkin (Nadler)

September 13, 2006 212-367-7350

Koneschusky (Weiner)

202-225-6616

Caley Gray (Pascrell)

973-523-5152

Will Whitman Be Prosecuted for 9/11 Lies?

Reps. Nadler, Weiner & Pascrell Request Special Counsel to Investigate

Whether Criminal Charges Should be Filed

NEW YORK - Congressman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), Congressman Weiner

(D-NY) and Congressman Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-NJ) today wrote Attorney General

Alberto requesting that a Special Counsel be appointed to investigate

whether criminal charges should be brought against former EPA Administrator

Todd Whitman, and against other government officials, for taking

actions that may have endangered the lives of thousands of people following the

September 11th, 2001 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center in New York.

" Christie Whitman repeatedly declared the air safe, and now thousands of

people are sick, and some have died, from World Trade Center contamination, "

said Rep. Nadler. " To add insult to injury, she just went on 60 Minutes and

tried to blame everybody else for her misdeeds. She must be held accountable, "

he

added.

" Christie Whitman lied to the public about the health hazards at Ground Zero

and endangered lives, " said Rep. Weiner. " We must ensure that the

accountability for these actions is not lost in a cloud of finger-pointing.

Only with

the appointment of a special prosecutor with subpoena power can an

independent investigation occur and, if necessary, criminal charges be brought

against

those responsible. "

" The betrayal of the public, the first responders and all those who

courageously volunteered at ground zero following this brutal attack is

unconscionable, " stated Rep. Bill Pascrell, Jr. " Justice must be served. The

lies and

deceit have caused the deaths of men like Zadroga, and caused thousands

of others to become gravely sick. This Administration abandoned the very

patriots who embodied our sense of national pride during a critical moment in

American history. Now the Administration is failing to uphold our justice

system. The reprehensible negligence and deception that has characterized the

federal response to this real environmental health hazard is abhorrent. It is

morally incumbent upon Attorney General to initiate the independent

investigation that we have demanded. "

In August, 2003, Rep. Nadler asked the Department of Justice to initiate a

federal investigation of Ms. Whitman's response to World Trade Center

contamination following 9/11. That request was based on EPA's negligence and

wrongdoing that has been well documented, culminating in a report that year by

the

EPA Inspector General that also found that the White House instructed EPA to

downplay air quality concerns. To our knowledge, DOJ never opened an

investigation of this matter.

Today, Reps. Nadler, Weiner, and Pascrell renewed the call for a special

counsel in light of several recent developments. A class action lawsuit was

filed by residents, workers and school children against the EPA, and against

Ms.

Whitman personally, for taking actions and making statements that knowingly

placed the victims in the way of harmful contamination. A federal judge

ruled that the case against not only the government, but against Ms. Whitman

personally, can go forward, and stated that Ms. Whitman's actions " shock the

conscience. " Two internal government memos were recently obtained under a

Freedom

of Information Act request, which reveal that the EPA knew the air around

Ground Zero was unsafe. In addition, Ms. Whitman may have had a financial

conflict-of-interest, and perhaps should have recused herself from the World

Trade

Center case.

" Unfortunately, the Department of Justice cannot investigate this matter.

Since the Department's refusal to initiate an investigation two years ago, DOJ

decided to represent the EPA and Ms. Whitman personally in the class action

suit brought by residents, workers and students from New York, " the Members

wrote. " Therefore, only a special counsel can independently review this case

and consider bringing charges against Todd Whitman and other

officials who recklessly endangered the lives and health of thousands of

American

citizens and heroes. "

The full text of the letter can be found below. The attachments referenced

in the letter can be obtained upon request.

September 13, 2006

The Honorable Alberto

Attorney General

Department of Justice

950 Pennsylvania Avenue NW

Washington, D.C. 20530

Dear Attorney General :

We write to request that a special counsel be appointed to investigate

whether criminal charges should be brought against former Environmental

Protection

Agency (EPA) Administrator Todd Whitman, and against other

government officials, for taking actions that may have endangered the lives of

thousands of people following the September 11th, 2001 terrorist attack on the

World Trade Center in New York.

In August, 2003, Rep. Nadler asked the Department of Justice (DOJ) to

initiate a federal investigation of Ms. Whitman's response to World Trade

Center

contamination following 9/11. That request was based on EPA's negligence and

wrongdoing that has been well documented, beginning with the EPA Ombudsman

investigation, which resulted in two eleven-hour hearings in February and March

of 2002, the transcripts of which are publicly available. Following these

hearings, Rep. Nadler issued a White Paper in April, 2002, which documented Ms.

Whitman's negligent actions, and identified what EPA should have done, and was

legally mandated to do, but failed to do in the days following the World

Trade Center attack (attachment #1). In 2003, the EPA Inspector General

confirmed EPA's wrongdoing, but also found that the White House had instructed

EPA to

downplay air quality concerns. Unfortunately, despite convincing evidence of

potential criminal malfeasance by the Federal Government in this matter, to

our knowledge DOJ never responded to this request for an investigation.

Since that request in 2003, even more evidence has been uncovered that

highlights the need for a special counsel. In 2004, a class action lawsuit was

filed by residents, workers and school children against the EPA, and against

Ms. Whitman personally, for taking actions and making statements that knowingly

placed the victims in the way of harmful contamination. A federal judge

ruled that the case against not only the government, but against Ms. Whitman

personally, can go forward, and that " Whitman's deliberate and misleading

statements made to the press, where she reassured the public that the air was

safe

to breathe around Lower Manhattan and Brooklyn, and that there would be no

health risk presented to those returning to those areas, shock the conscience "

(Benzman v. Whitman, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 4005 (S.D.N.Y. Feb. 2, 2006)).

The judge also stated that " No reasonable person would have thought that

telling thousands of people that it was safe to return to Lower Manhattan,

while

knowing such return could pose long-term health risks and other dire

consequences, was conduct sanctioned by our laws, " (Ibid).

In addition, internal government memos were recently obtained by

Kupferman of the New York Environmental Law & Justice Project, under the

Freedom of

Information Act, which reveal that the EPA knew that the air was unsafe. In

a memo dated October 5, 2001, the Chief of the Response and Prevention

Branch for the EPA wrote " Air sampling by EPA and others indicates that

asbestos

and other contaminants are present in the air at the WTC, " (attachment #2).

In another memo dated October 6, 2001, McKinney of the NYC Health

Department wrote, " EPA has been charged with leading the air quality sampling

effort, " but that " EPA has been very slow to make data results available and to

date has not sufficiently informed the public of air quality issues arising

from this disaster " (attachment #3). Mr. McKinney went on to write that

although people were being allowed back into buildings in the surrounding

neighborhood, " DEP believes the air quality at those locations is not yet

suitable for

reoccupancy. " Responsible officials never revealed this information to the

public, and they allowed people to be exposed to this harmful contamination.

Throughout this time, Ms. Whitman and other EPA officials repeatedly declared

the air safe, despite the Agency's evidence to the contrary.

It is also troubling that Ms. Whitman may have had a financial

conflict-of-interest, and perhaps should have recused herself from the World

Trade Center

case. Ms. Whitman's husband worked for Citigroup, which owns Traveler's

Insurance, and Ms. Whitman's financial disclosure form shows that she and her

husband own hundreds of thousands of dollars in Citigroup stock (attachment

#4).

According to news reports, Traveler's Insurance paid at least $500 million

in claims related to 9/11, and faced thousands of other potential claims from

people who suffered physical damage or had damage done to their homes and

businesses. At the EPA Ombudsman hearings, people testified that insurance

companies denied claims, citing EPA's declaration that the air was safe. Ms.

Whitman's recusal letter to the Ethics office clearly states that she will

recuse herself from matters involving the Port Authority of New York & New

Jersey,

but curiously, does not state that she will recuse herself from matters

involving Citigroup (attachment #5). As you know, the Port Authority owns the

World Trade Center site, yet Ms. Whitman did not recuse herself from the case

despite her connection to the Port Authority and to Citigroup. When the EPA

Ombudsman raised the financial conflict-of-interest issue, as well as other

problems with the Agency's response to 9/11, Ms. Whitman closed the Ombudsman's

office and shut down its investigation. This matter should be investigated

to determine if Ms. Whitman violated the conflict-of-interest statute in 18

USC §208 or any other related provision of law.

Despite the public outcry for justice for the 9/11 victims, Ms. Whitman

continues to misrepresent the facts. In a recent interview on 60 Minutes, Ms.

Whitman claimed that her many public comments that the air was safe were not

meant to apply to Ground Zero ( " the pile " ), but only to the air in Lower

Manhattan ( " across the street " ). Ms. Whitman stated, " Everything that the

scientists were telling us. That the air - ambient air quality in lower

Manhattan,

this was not about the pile, this was about lower Manhattan - the readings were

showing us that there was nothing that gave us any concern about long-term

health implications. " However, the above referenced Memos, the EPA IG Report,

and other documents, prove this to be a false statement. To add insult to

injury, she tried to shift the blame to the Giuliani Administration, and

shockingly, even to the people exposed to WTC contamination stating " You know,

it's hard to know when people, people hear what they wanna hear. "

The reality is that Ms. Whitman repeatedly declared the air safe, and now

thousands of people are sick, and some have died, from World Trade Center

contamination. Studies come out every year showing that more than a majority

of

people exposed to 9/11 dust and debris suffer adverse health effects. On

September 5, 2006, Mt. Sinai Medical Center released a study that found 70% of

first responders suffer lung problems because of their work at Ground Zero.

Information collected about the health effects on residents, people who work in

the area, and school children show similar patterns.

Unfortunately, the Department of Justice cannot investigate this matter.

Since the Department's refusal to initiate an investigation two years ago, DOJ

decided to represent the EPA and Ms. Whitman personally in the class action

suit brought by residents, workers and students from New York. Therefore, only

a special counsel can independently review this case and consider bringing

charges against Todd Whitman and other officials who recklessly

endangered the lives and health of thousands of American citizens and heroes.

Sincerely,

Jerrold Nadler D. Weiner Bill Pascrell, Jr.

Member of Congress Member of Congress Member of Congress

Attachments

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