FEMA workers pretended to be reporters and asked softball questions to Harvey E. Johnson, FEMA's deputy director. FEMA blames it on "error in judgment."
The White House scolded the Federal Emergency Management Agency on Friday for staging a phony news conference about assistance to victims of wildfires in southern California.
The agency – much maligned for its sluggish response to Hurricane Katrina over two years ago – arranged to have FEMA employees play the part of independent reporters Tuesday and ask questions of Vice Adm. Harvey E. Johnson, the agency's deputy director.
