After offering three different versions of Jindal's Katrina story, Jindal's staff finally settled on a version that sounds more plausible. They also offered a video from 2007 Jindal's governor's campaign. It shows that Harry Lee was praising Jindal, "Hurricane Katrina, the day after, Bobby was in my office."
Many think that is proves that Bobby was there and his story was true. They would have done well by just releasing the video without saying another word. Too bad their revisions or "clarifications" lead to more contradictions. More below the fold.
For background please go to my previous diary, Barbara Morrill's diary, oneby Scout Finch, or TPMMuckraker story.
First, the original story Jindal told on Feb 24, 2009,
During Katrina, I visited Sheriff Harry Lee, a Democrat and a good friend of mine. When I walked into his makeshift office I'd never seen him so angry. He was yelling into the phone: 'Well, I'm the Sheriff and if you don't like it you can come and arrest me!' I asked him: 'Sheriff, what's got you so mad?' He told me that he had put out a call for volunteers to come with their boats to rescue people who were trapped on their rooftops by the floodwaters. The boats were all lined up ready to go - when some bureaucrat showed up and told them they couldn't go out on the water unless they had proof of insurance and registration. I told him, 'Sheriff, that's ridiculous.' And before I knew it, he was yelling into the phone: 'Congressman Jindal is here, and he says you can come and arrest him too!' Harry just told the boaters to ignore the bureaucrats and start rescuing people.
Now, the first revisiontold by Jindal spokeswoman Melissa Sellers on Feb 27, 2009,
A spokeswoman for Bobby Jindal says the Louisiana governor didn't imply that an anecdote about battling bureaucrats during Katrina directly involved the governor or took place during the heat of a fight to release rescue boats.
**snip**
"It was days later," Sellers said. "Sheriff Lee was on the phone and the governor came down to visit him. It wasn't that they were standing right down there with the boats."
She said she didn't know who Lee, who died in 2007, was on the phone, about the incident with the boats when the governor described him as yelling into the phone.
What's weird, is that Ben Smith, the blogger who reported this revision, deleted the following part that was picked up by TPMMuckraker:
She said she thought Lee, who died in 2007, "was doing an interview" about the incident with the boats when the governor described him yelling into the phone.
Next, the second revision by Jindal chief of staff Timmy Teepell, a few hours after Sellers' revision,
"Bobby and I walked into Harry Lee’s office – he’s yelling on the phone about a decision he’s already made," Jindal chief of staff Timmy Teepell recalled. "He’s saying, 'This is a decision I made, and if you don’t like it you can come and arrest me.'"
Teepell said the exchange took place in the week following Katrina, when Jindal visited Jefferson Parish multiple times.
"He was boots on the ground all the time," he said.
"Decision he's already made," the first time this has appeared since 2007 Bobby started to tell this story. So the version that Jindal (or his staff) now settled on, is that Jindal went to visit Harry Lee days after Katrina passed, and after the boat incident, but still heard Lee arguing with someone on the phone. If there was any wiggle room in his story on Feb 24 that allowed them to backtrack, this video below from fall of 2008 in Iowa leaves no doubt whatsoever:
This is essentially the same story he told on Feb 24, 2009 on national TV, but with the extra emphasis on that he was there right in the middle of the action:
Literally, in the hours after the storm, a couple of days after the storm, I went down the Jefferson Parish, where Harry Lee was sheriff. Found him in his makeshift backup office.
**snip**
"Look, I'm the sheriff. We're going to continue to launch the boats and rescue these people. And if you don't like it, you can come and arrest me."
**snip**
"I got Congressman Bobby Jindal here. If you don't like it you can arrest him too!"
This without any doubt made the claim the Jindal himself was in the middle of the rescue mission.
So what about the video that Jindal staff provided
Here Harry Lee clearly said that Jindal was there in Lee's office the day after. This brings up a curious question. If what Lee said is true and supports Jindal's story, why would Jindal staff need to change the story to after the boat rescue incident? Either Bobby was lying, or both his spokeswoman and his chief of staff were lying. That is a tough choice.