http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ep/20050914/en_bpiep/krreportconfusedchertoffdelayedfederalkatrinaresponseKR Report: 'Confused' Chertoff Delayed Federal Katrina Response Wed Sep 14, 6:38 PM ET
NEW YORK In a major scoop, three reporters with Knight Ridder's Washington bureau report that Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, not ex-FEMA chief Michael Brown, was the federal official with the power to mobilize a massive federal response to Hurricane Katrina.
In a damning allegation, they suggest that Chertoff may have been confused about his lead role in disaster response and that of his department.
The reporters -- Jonathan S. Landay, Alison Young and Shannon McCaffrey -- say this is based on federal documents they reviewed this week.
Even before the storm struck the Gulf Coast, they report, Chertoff could have ordered federal agencies into action without any request from state or local officials. Brown, they add, had only limited authority to do so until about 36 hours after the storm hit, when Chertoff designated him as the "principal federal official" in charge of the storm.
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