Posted on 09/15/2005 2:38:11 PM PDT by Anti-Bubba182
Thursday, September 15, 2005
IN KATRINA'S WAKE Posted: September 15, 2005 2:06 p.m. Eastern
© 2005 WorldNetDaily.com
The president of a Louisiana parish tearfully told a national TV audience the heartbreaking story of a coworker whose mother was left to die in a flooded nursing home days after Hurricane Katrina immobilized New Orleans but, as it turns out, the story isn't true.
The blog WuzzaDem.com uncovered the truth-stretching rhetoric of Jefferson Parish President Aaron Broussard's account he shared on "Meet the Press" Sept. 4 as he emotionally complained about lack of federal response to Katrina victims.
Here is Broussard's story broadcast on the NBC news show:
The guy who runs this building I'm in, emergency management, he's responsible for everything. His mother was trapped in a St. Bernard nursing home and every day she called him and said, "Are you coming, son? Is somebody coming?" And he said, "Yeah, Mama, somebody's coming to get you. Somebody's coming to get you on Tuesday. Somebody's coming to get you on Wednesday. Somebody's coming to get you on Thursday. Somebody's coming to get you on Friday." And she drowned Friday night. She drowned Friday night.
The Friday night Broussard is talking about was Sept. 2, but it turns out the woman actually died Aug. 29, the previous Monday, when Katrina hit the Gulf Coast.
MSNBC reported the man Broussard was talking about is Thomas Rodrigue, who told "Dateline" that his 92-year-old mother was one of 32 elderly people found dead at the St. Rita's nursing home. The New York Times reported the 32 residents, out of 60 total, died Aug. 29.
CNN reported Rodrigue, as he worked the hurricane watch Aug. 28, called the nursing home in St. Bernard to plead with the management to evacuate the residents. He also says he contacted St. Bernard Parish officials asking them to send sheriff's office personnel to the facility to evacuate his mother and the others but to no avail. Over half the residents were killed Monday when Katrina came ashore.
Reported WuzzaDem.com: "Broussard claims Rodrigue was talking to his mother for four days after she died, promising here some nebulous 'cavalry' was on the way. His story doesn't jibe with the reporting of CNN, MSNBC, the New York Times, or even Thomas Rodrigue's own account.
"Why would he lie about such a thing?
"Aaron Broussard's crocodile tears came at the tail-end of a tirade against FEMA, in response to a question from [host] Tim Russert asking whether the mayor of New Orleans and the governor of Louisiana could have been 'more forceful, much more effective and much more organized in evacuating the area.'"
The site claims Broussard, a Democrat, was "trying to score political points" by blaming federal officials when Louisiana's emergency plan explicitly designates local officials as those responsible for pre-disaster evacuation and for responding directly after an event.
The website Lies.com also reported on Broussard's fabrication, saying, "Assuming the MSNBC story is accurate, Broussards story was at least significantly embellished. ... Broussard, for all the apparent sincerity in his emotional on-air breakdown, was willing to lie in order to make his story work better as political theater."
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In Nursing Home, a Fight Lost to Rising Waters (Broussard less than truthful on Meet The Press)
Still, it is good to see this get more exposure.
So when is Diane Sawyer going to bust this guy?
I remember seeing this man....It brought me to tears. I had no idea it was an untrue story. Thank you for posting this
Look for flying pigs.
So will Meet the Press ever run a correction? Of course not, and the liberals will continue to cite this incident as gospel, no matter what. This is just business as usual for the lying MSM. I'm not surprised.
You have to remember, if it turns into an Oprah moment, its prolly bullchips..
Hmmmmm .. any comment from Timmy Russert and Chrissy Matthews on this yet??
He also claimed FEMA cut their communication lines. Is that true or another 'embellishment'?
The words I just muttered to myself as I read this are unprintable....it started with "you little m....."
Taking a breath.
I watched this guy break down on national TV. He's a fraud. Thanks to the internet, we'll all find out.
lol....lesson learned.
A rat lie? Surely you jest? (Sarcasm)
It was a moving moment, but it really turns into rotten exploitation when you know is isn't true.
I read that blog yesterday and noted he's told more stories than Carter has little pills.
Wasn't there info that Broussard was under federal investigation also?
Yes, he is under a federal investigation .. I believe it is for fraud
Other buddies of his have already been indicted
John Edwards was talking to whom in the nursing home?
The emails and other grapevine source must have gotten to them. I'm sure they will ignore this until and if they have to deal with it.
Oh my goodness...this certainly IS turning into something even Kafka couldn't have dreamed up!
http://www.wdsu.com/news/4866083/detail.html?subid=10100245
Report: Aaron Broussard, Judge Subpoenaed In Corruption Probe
POSTED: 5:37 am CDT August 18, 2005
UPDATED: 6:28 am CDT August 18, 2005
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NEW ORLEANS -- Two more Jefferson Parish officials are being drawn into the corruption probe dubbed Operation Wrinkled Robe, according to a newspaper report.
The Times-Picayune reports that investigators have issued subpoenas to Parish President Aaron Broussard and 24th District Judge Kernan "Skip" Hand.
The story says the subpoenas are related to political donations made by Bail Bonds Unlimited to Hand's campaigns.
Last month, Judge Alan Green was convicted of mail fraud as a result of the ongoing investigation.
He was caught by FBI video surveillance taking an envelope stuffed with money from a Bail Bonds Unlimited employee.
This guy is the lowest form of human excrement.
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