U.S.

Department of Homeland Security

500 C Street, SW
Washington, DC 20472

JUN t 4 2006 FEMA

Ms. Melanie Sloan
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington
11 DuPont Circle
N.W., 2ndFloor
Washington, DC 20036

RE: Freedom of Information Act Request

FOIA Case Number: 05-263

Dear Ms. Sloan:

This letter is a partial response to your Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request dated
September 7, 2005. In your request you asked for the following records/information:

1. What portion of the $3.1 billion appropriated to DHS in fiscal year 2005 for
emergency preparedness to "support the Nation's ability to prepare for, mitigate
against, respond to and recover from natural and manmade disasters" was spent to
prepare for potential hurricanes on the Gulf Coast of the United States and on
potential flooding in New Orleans;
2. The amount of money diverted from emergency preparedness for and response to
natural disasters to emergency preparedness for and response to acts of terrorism
and the rationale behind any such diversion;
3. Studies, assessments, presentations, or scenarios of the potential devastation a
powerful hurricane could wreak on the Gulf Coast, including, but not limited to
the eight-day tabletop exercise conducted in July 2004 and intended to prepare
FEMA for a catastrophic hurricane in New Orleans;
4. Plans created regarding the federal government's response to any such scenarios;
5. The potential breaching of the levees that would lead to Lake Pontchartrain
flooding New Orleans and the response to such breaches; and
6. Communications from anyone employed by or associated with the Army Corps of
Engineers regarding the problems with and weakness of the levees surrounding
New Orleans, the potential breaching of the levees and the consequences of such
breaches, as well as proposed repairs or other construction to the levees.

In addition, your letter stated that "CREW further seeks all memoranda, communications
and records of any kind and from any source, regardless of format, medium, or physical
characteristics, from August 26, 2005 through the present, discussing or mentioning in
any way:

1. Requests for emergency assistance from local government officials in Mississippi

and Louisiana in response to Hurricane Katrina;
 2. Requests from local government officials in Mississippi and Louisiana for
assistance in preparing for Hurricane Katrina, including, but not limited to
communications requesting assistance in evacuating residents of Mississippi and
Louisiana from the areas in the hurricane's path;
3. Communications between the White House and FEMA regarding the preparation
for and response to the damage caused by hurricane Katrina;
4. Communications regarding the conditions in the New Orleans Convention Center;
5. Communications regarding the need for transportation to evacuate victims of the
hurricane from the city of New Orleans as well as communications regarding the
need for food and water for victims stranded in New Orleans;
6. Communications from Congressman Charles W. Boustany Jr. (R-LA) requesting
federal assistance and any response to Congressman Boustany;
7. Communications regarding offers by corporations and foreign governments to
assist the victims of the Hurricane Katrina and FEMA's responses to such offers;
8. Communications between FEMA Director Michael Brown and cabinet officials
either before or after the hurricane regarding the potential and actual devastation
wrought by the hurricane and the federal government's response to the
devastation;
9. Communications regarding the plan to evacuate victims of the hurricane to
Charleston, South Carolina and the misrouting of the plane carrying the evacuees
to Charleston, West Virginia;
10. Communications regarding the deployment of the National Guard to New Orleans
to assist in evacuation and relief efforts;
11. Communications regarding the inclusion of Operation Blessing, a Virginia based
charity run by evangelist and Christian Coalition founder Pat Robertson, on
FEMA's primary list of charities to which people were asked to donate money to
assist hurricane relief efforts; and
%

12. Communications regarding the limitations placed on journalists and

photographers, including, but not limited to; efforts to prevent photographers from
talung pictures of the corpses of hunjcane victims in Louisiana and Mississippi.

In responding to a FOIA request, the US Department of Homeland Security

(DHS)/Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) search will include
responsive records in its control on the date the search began. FEMA's search began
September 24,2005.

Your request is granted in part at no cost to you. Enclosed are releasable portions of
documents that are responsive to item number 12 in the second part of your request.
After thorough legal review of these documents, I have determined that portions of them
are exempt from disclosure under exemption 6 of the Freedom of Information Act of
1974, 5 U.S.C. 552, (b)(6), as amended. We are releasing a total of 23 pages, of which
10 are released in part, and 13 pages are released in their entirety.

We are withholding personal cell phone numbers and email addresses, the names of non-
DHS government personnel and non-media personnel, under FOIA Exemption 6.
Exemption 6 exempts from disclosure records the release of which would cause a clearly
 unwarranted invasion of personal privacy. The interest of the general public in reviewing
these portions of government documents does not outweigh the individuals' right to
privacy. The release of this information adds no detail about agency activities, the core
purpose of the FOIA.

I am the official responsible for this determination. You may appeal this determination
within 60 days from the date of this letter. Your appeal should include copies of your
original request and this response, as well as a discussion of the reasons supporting your
appeal. The envelope should be plainly marked to indicate that it contains a Freedom of
7 Information Act appeal. If you decide to appeal, please send your appeal to:

Freedom of Information ActPrivacy Act Appeals

U.S. Department of Homeland Security
245 Murray Lane, SW, Building 410
Washington, DC 20528

FEMA will continue to search for additional documents that may be responsive to your
request. Because of the broad scope of your request, responsive records may be located
at various offices within FEMA. Each office will respond via separate correspondence
with their respective records.

For your information, your FOIA request including your identity, the information made
available, is releasable to the public under subsequent FOIA requests. In response to
these requests, FEMA does not release personal privacy information, such as home
address, telephone numbers or Social Security Numbers all of which are protected from
* .
disclosure under FOIA exemption 6. I j

Thank you for your interest in FEMA's programs and policies.

Cindy Taylor
Deputy Director
Office of Public Affairs

Enclosures
 Page 1 of 2

Kinerney, Eugene
p-. --~-,.' .. ------
From: ~ i n e r n eEugene
~,
Sent: Wednesday, September 07,2005 4:14 PM
To: Andrews, Nicol D - Public Affairs
Subject: FW: FEMA No Photos
Importance: High

Debbie is on the phone with DHS right now on that topic...

From: Rule, Natalie

Sent: Wednesday, September 07, 2005 1 5 6 PM
To: h J
Cc: Wing, Deborah; Kinerney, Eugene
Subject: RE: FEMA No Photos
Importance: High

This sound fine for follow up stories?

For rescue and recovery efforts, we cannot have them taking up needed space in vehicles and boats. From the
standpoint of our mortuary operatiot~s,we will not assist media in viewing our operations out of respect for those
who have perished in this storm and respect for their families.

Decisions about running footage or photos of what the media has filmed is up to them, but FEMA is being
respectful of those who have lost their lives and of their families and will not allow filming of FEMA operations and
certainly will not assist media in :ovc+ring these operations.

F r o m : ' r i i I : -1
Sent: Wednesday, September 01; 2005 12:54 PM
To: Rule, Natalie
Subject: Re: FEMA No Photos

russ was just looking for- some understanding on our position t o help to communicate t o reporters
for background. i know NBC specifically had asked.

Apart from a space issue on boats, isn't this really a dignity issue for the people who the teams will
be recovering and their families?

-----Original Message-----
From: Rule, Natalie <Natalie.Rule@dhs.gov>
To: 'womackkolton@aol.com' <wornackkolton@aol.com>
Sent: Wed, 7 Sep 2005 12:47:48 -0400

-
Subject: RE: FEMA No Photos -

Think it was Debbie Wing. What is needed on this?

From: [mailto:
I - f
Sent: Wednesday, September 07,2005 12:46 PM
To: Rule, Natalie
Subject: Fwd: FEMA No Photos
 Page 2 of 2

are you the spokeswoman quoted within?

KATRINA'S AFTERMATH

FEMA Wants No Photos of Dead

From Reuters

September 7, 2005

NEW ORLEANS - The U.S. agency leading Hurricane Katrina rescue efforts said Tuesday that it does
not want the news media to photograph the dead as they are recovered.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency, heavily criticized for its slow response t o the
devastation caused by the hurricane, rejected journalists' requests to accompany rescue boats
searching for storm victims.

An agency spokeswoman said space was needed on the rescue boats.

"We have requested that no photog raphs of the deceased be made by the media," the
spokeswoman said i n an e-mail.
.Faylor, Cindy
From: Taylor, Cindy
Sent: Thursday, September 08,2005 5:41 PM
To: Baker, Jean; Ellis, BarbaraJ
Subject: Re: Public Inquiry: Press Censorshi

We have not been restricting access, with the only exception being we are not allowing
media in to the facility that is providing mortuary services for the deceased. This
exception is out of respect to the deceased and sensitivity to their relatives.

Does that help?

..........................
Sent from my BlackBerry Wireless Handheld

-----Original Message-----
From: Baker, Jean <Jean.Baker@fema.gov>
To: Taylor, Cindy <Cindy.Taylor@fema.gov>; Ellis, BarbaraJ <BarbaraJ.Ellis@fema.gov>
Sent: Thu Sep 08 17:06:16 2005
Subject: Public Inquiry: Press Censorshi

Cindy-this afternoon R6 got a call from a private citizen

who wanted to register her concern about FEMA censoring the press by not allowing media to
cover the recovery of the dead in LA and other affected areas. She specifically cited an
article in today's Washington Post and a blog posting by NBC's Brian Williams; both say
that FEMA and other authorities in New Orleans are preventing media from entering areas
that were previously open to media, presumably to prevent coverage of recovery of bodies
as the flood waters recede.

It would be helpful to know if FEMA has issued any guidance to reporters on their ability
to cover this aspect of the recovery. The caller was told that FEMA Region VI is
responding to a variety of media requests related to Katrina recovery and we hadn't heard
of an all-out ban on any aspect of coverage.
;. .
Page I of 2

'' Taylor, Cindy

From: Andrews, Nicol D - Public Affairs

Sent: Thursday, September 08, 2005 6.13 PM
To: Besanceney, Brian; 'Bergman, Cynthia'; Rule, Natalie; 'Knocke, William R'; Montgomery, Kathleen;
'jarrod.agen@dhs.gov'; Karonis, Jeff; Bahamonde, Marty; Taylor, Cindy
Subject: issues on the radar

There are several things that need to be on every one's radar - some are being addressed, others are still so fluid that we
will want to stay on top of them operationally so we know when resolution is reached. Just wanted to make sure everyone
was aware and what (as far as I know) is being done. Please add to andlor correct anything you know to be different than
what is'listed below:

1. Photoslfilm of deceased; we will not assist media in filming nor invite them to join DMORT operations out of respect
for the deceased and their families.

2. DMORT operation; federal, state and local officials are working with Kenyon International to collect and process the
bodies of victims throughout the hardest hit areas of Louisiana. Bodies are being treated with dignity and respect -
once they are identified and processed, they are turned over to the state for notification of the next of kin. Right
now, teams are gathering bodies that are in the open and will begin a more methodical griddriven search led by
members of the 82ndAirborne in the next couple of days. No estimate yet as to how long this process will take.

3. Ongoing evacuation; Operations reports that rescue teams are still evacuating approximately 1,000 people per day
from New Orleans and outlying parishes.

4. FEMA 'drivers' arrested; the Plaquemines Parish sheriffs office is claiming the arrest of two FEMA 'drivers' for
looting. Logisitics is working to confirm this report, assuming reference to contract personnel hired to transport
commodities and supplies, not technically FEMA employees.

5. FEMA officials commandeering private property; several reports of various 'FEMA officials' commandeering private
property for use in the response operation. FEMA does not have the legal authority to do this and suspicious
activity should be reported immediately to the DHS IG fraud hotline. (It is worth noting that these kinds of reports
'
are not uncommon following a disaster - people misrepresent themselves as FEMA for personal gain.) Several
reports need to be knocked down as soon as possible with strong language that anyone misrepresenting
themselves will be caught and prosecuted. Thought from front office here is a PSA campaign - know Marty was
working on that.

6. Cruise ships; Ships in Texas are in the process of being moved to dock in Mississippi and Louisiana to house
disaster relief workers in addition to andlor rather than hurricane survivors. There are several updates to the
housing situation that will likely be resolved later today. Stay tuned.

7. Debit cardslexpedited assistance; A great deal of confusion still exists regarding debit cards. These are a single
tool for expedited assistance for those who do not have access to a bank account. Cards and PINS are issued
simultaneously and the $2000 is immediately available upon receipt. Cindy has recommended a plan to address
this issue nationally in addition to field press briefing this afternoon.

8. Lockdown at the Astrodome; Confusion and excitement about the announcement of expedited assistance created
a security situation at the Astrodome where guards had to lock down the facility and secure the gates. For obvious
reasons, state and local officials are concerned with how this program will proceed. FEMA is working with them
currently to resolve.

9. Shelter Plan; expect a solid draft of the plan by today.

10. Pets; PETA has waged a campaign to include pets in the rescue operations. That organization is being tapped to
help organize a mission to rescue pets along side other ongoing operations. More on this tomorrow.

11. USS Comfort; If the ship can make it through the Pascagoula channel, the Comfort will dock in New Orleans with
 Page 2 of 2
its full compliment of medical providers to serve as a hospital. The ship has 250 hospital beds and 750 additional
.- beds - most of the additional beds are used by support staff.

12. Positioning of travel trailers; the state of Louisiana is still in deliberations on a site or series or sites (like we did in
Florida) to place somewhere in the neighborhood of 10,000 travel trailers that will be made available for temporary
housing.

13. Deployment of FEMA personnel; AP reported incorrectly that Brown waited until 911 to deploy 1,000 personnel.
Story was driven by a single memo obtained by the AP that referred to our CR cadre. Issue addressed, but please
be aware in case you see it running elsewhere.

14. Timeline; DHS is finalizing an official reconstruction of events. Several major media outlets are clamoring for a
play-by-play. Russ Knocke will handle related calls.

15. Congressional investigation; Frist and Hastert announced a bi-partisanlbicamera1committee to fully investigate the
events surrounding local, state and federal response to Hurricane Katrina -to be completed by Feb 2006.

16. $58 billion supplemental request; President Bush requested an additional $58 billion in supplemental funding from
Congress for hurricane relief and recovery.

17. National Day of Prayer and Remembrance; President Bush today named Friday, Sept. 16,2005 a national day of
prayer and remembrance to honor the victims and survivors of hurricane Katrina.
.Taylor, Cindy
From: Taylor, Cindy
Sent: Friday, September 09, 2005 1:23 PM
To: Rule, Natalie; Kinerney, Eugene
Cc: Bahamonde, Marty
Subject: FW: Photos of Katrina Victims

Who's w o r k i n g t h i s u p t h e r e ? Sorry - n o t s u r e what t h e f i n a l answer w a s o n c o n f e r e n c e

.Kinernev, Euaene

From: Kinerney, Eugene

Sent: Friday, September 09, 2005 5: 11 PM
To: 'Worthy, Sharon'
Subject: RE: Katrina access

Access is being controlled by local authorities. Have to check with them.

-----Original Message-----
From: Worthy, Sharon [mailto:Sharon.Worthy@dhsSgov]
Sent: Friday, September 09, 2005 4:44 PM
To: Andrews, Nicol D - Public Affairs; 'butch.kinerney@dhs.gov'
Subject: Fw: Katrina access

Here's a easy one.

-----Original Message-----
From: McCoppin, Robert <rmccoppin@dailyheralddcom>
To: Worthy, Sharon <Sharon.Worthy@dhs.gov>; barbara.ellis@dhs.gov <barbara.ellis@dhs.gov>;
Mcintyre, James <James.M~intyrel@dhs~gov>
Sent: Fri Sep 09 16:34:11 2005
Subject: Katrina access

Sharon,
I'm trying to find out what credentials I need to cover hurricane recovery efforts in New
Orleans and the Gulf area. My photographer and I have standard Daily Herald newspaper
identification. Do we need anything more?
(We are also trying to deliver department T-shirts sent by commanders to firefighters from
our area in New Orleans.) Thank you for any guidance or help you can offer.

Robert McCoppin
Daily Herald
Arlington Heights, Ill.
847-427-4531
- 'Kinerney, Eugene

From: Kinerney, Eugene

Sent: Friday, September 09, 2005 5:36 PM
To: 'rmccoppin@dailyheraId.com'
Subject: RE: Katrina access

Access is being controlled by local authorities. Have to check with them.

-----Original Message-----
From: McCoppin, Robert <rmccoppin@dailyheralddcom>
To: Worthy, Sharon <Sharon.Worthy@dhs.gov>; barbara.ellis@dhs.gov <barbara.ellis@dhs.gov>;
Mcintyre, James <James.Mcintyrel@dhs.gov>
Sent: Fri Sep 09 16:34:11 2005
Subject: Katrina access

Sharon,
I'm trying to find out what credentials I need to cover hurricane recovery efforts in New
Orleans and the Gulf area. My photographer and I have standard Daily Herald newspaper
identification. Do we need anything more?
(We are also trying to deliver department T-shirts sent by commanders to firefighters from
our area in New Orleans.) Thank you for any guidance or help you can offer.

Robert.McCoppin
Daily Herald
Arlington Heights, I11
847-427-4531
 Page 1 of 1 I

Kinerney, Eugene
,- ..-..--*-., ---- -
From: Kinerney, Eugene
Sent:
To:

Cc:
-
Friday, September 09, 2005 7:17 PM
Rule, Natalie; Taylor, Cindy; Andrews, Nicol D - Public Affairs; Passey, David;

Wing, Deborah
J)

Subject: FW: NPR - CNN lawsuit

Apparently CNN filed suit in federal court in Houston barring us or any other agency from restricting their access
to the dead for photos.

Told reporter that to my knowledge FEMA was not aware of any suit like this and that we can't comment on
pending litigation. He was fine with it.

From: EST-ESFlS
Sent: Friday, September 09, 2005 7:lO PM
To: Kinerney, Eugene
Subject: NPR -- CNN lawsuit

David Folkenflick National Public Radio Washington D.C. 202-744-2540 inquiring about
a CNN lawsuit over access to the dead.

ESF-15 External Affairs

DHSIFEMA National Response Coordination Center
Washington, DC
202-646-2456
'~aylor,Cindy
From: Bahamonde, Marty
Sent: Tuesday, September 13,2005 4:33 PM
To: Taylor, Cindy
Subject: FW: Slowness of recovery of Katrina dead criticized

----- Original Message-----

From: Bahamonde, Marty [mailto:Marty.Bahamonde@dhs.gov]
Sent: Tuesday, September 13, 2005 3:20 PM
To: 'Bergman, Cynthia'; Knocke, William R; Besanceney, Brian
Cc: Rule, Natalie; Karonis, Jeff; Bahamonde, Marty
Subject: RE: Slowness of recovery of Katrina dead criticized

Admiral Allan Statement

From the initial days following Hurricane Katrina, federal assets have
worked closely with the State of Louisiana to help them implement their plan
on retrieving the remains of those who perished. Federal agencies and the
U.S. Military have brought in hundreds of resources to assist the state and
have even sought outside resources to help them in the process. The State
has always maintained direct control over the mortuary process following
this tragedy. We are committed to a process that treats the victims of
Katrina with dignity and respect, yet defer to State officials on what they
believe to be the best solution for their constituents.

Any thoughts on this?

Marty

-----Original Message-----
From: Bergman, Cynthia [mailto:Cynthia.Bergman@dhs.gov]
Sent: Tuesday, September 13, 2005 2:32 PM
To: Knocke, William R; Besanceney, Brian
Cc: Rule, Natalie; Karonis, Jeff; Bahamonde, Marty
Subject: Re: Slowness of recovery of Katrina dead criticized
Marty- what do you advise? Is the Gov willing to cooperate?
--------------------------
Sent from my BlackBerry Wireless Handheld

----- Original Message-----

From: Knocke, William R <William.R.Knocke@HQ.DHS.GOV>
To: Besanceney, Brian <Brian.Besanceney@HQ.DHS.GOV>; Bergman, Cynthia
<Cynthia.Bergman@HQ.DHS.GOV>
CC: Rule, Natalie <Natalie.Rule@dhs.gov>; Karonis, Jeff
<Jeff.Karonis@HQ.DHS.GOV>; 'Bahamonde, Marty' <Marty.Bahamonde@dhs.gov>
Sent: Tue Sep 13 15:11:40 2005
Subject: Slowness of recovery of Katrina dead criticized

Cathy and Dana are suggesting a joint statement with the State, or even a
conference call with the state. Please advise. Thanks ...Russ
_.
Slowness of recovery of Katrina dead criticized

BATON ROUGE, Sept 13 (Reuters) - Louisiana's governor condemned the Federal

Emergency Management Agency on Tuesday for moving too slowly to recover the
dead from New Orleans and has signed a contract directly on behalf of the
state with the recovery company originally hired by FEMA.

"I have taken action today to resolve a matter that involves life, death and
dignity," Kathleen Blanco told reporters at a meeting of state elected
officials.

"I can not stand by while this vital operation is not being handled
appropriately."

Blanco said she has signed a contract with Kenyon International Emergency
Services after the company threatened to pull out of the state because it
had not yet signed a formal contract with FEMA.

Asked about the issue, FEMA spokesman David Passey said: "From what I
understand, Kenyon had some questions about the contract."

He said from the beginning FEMA had expected Louisiana to take the lead in
the collection of bodies and FEMA was satisfied that the state had signed a
contract with the company.

"I don't know the exact nature of the contract concerns. We made our best
effort to engage Kenyon in a contract," he said.

The fact that the state had signed a contract with Kenyon would allow
federal mortuary teams to "get on with what they do best," the
identification of the dead.

Blanco did not give details of the financial arrangements of the state's
contract with Kenyon, and spokespeople for the company were not immediately
available to comment.

Kenyon said on Sept. 7 it had been hired by FEMA for recovery services.

FEMA has become the target of strong criticism of the Bush administration's
handling of the hurricane, which struck the U.S. Gulf coast two weeks ago,
killing hundreds and displacing 1 million people in the nation's worst
natural disaster.

FEMA director Michael Brown, whose work was initially praised by President
George W. Bush, resigned on Monday.

Bush himself took responsibility on Tuesday for failures in the federal

response to Hurricane Katrina and acknowledged the storm exposed serious
deficiencies at all levels of government four years after the Sept. 11
attacks.

Russ Knocke

Press Secretary

-
Department of Homeland Security

Office: 202.282.8010

Cell:

Fax: 202.282.8408
PEMA order Page 1 of I

Taylor, Cindy

From: Rule, Natalie

Sent: Tuesday, September 13,2005 6:05 PM
To: Kinerney, Eugene
Cc: ~ahamonde,Marty; Taylor, Cindy
Subject: FW: FEMA order
Attachments: FEMA order.pdf

Butch: This reporter just called asking for a response to the fact that the Keith Ellison, southern district of Texas, just
hosted a conference call at 4 p.m. today and said he would consider holding FEMA in contempt as we have had more
than enough time - as the federal coordination entity - to let all parties know that they cannot block media from filming the
body retrieval. Apparently after this judge provided a temporary restraining order (issued Saturday) allowing media to
cover what they need, CNN came back and complained that they are still being blocked by national guard and others. So
they complained, and this conference call took place.

Ithink you have worked on this issue so far ....guess we need to be quite careful now that is a law suit. Who from OGC do
we need to bring in.

From: Rice, Harvey [mailto:Harvey.Rice@chron.com]

Sent:Tuesday, September 13, 2005 5:22 PM
To: Rule, Natalie
Subject: FEMA order

<<FEMA order.pd+>

Harvey Rice

reporter, Houston Chronicle

Office: 7 13-362-6374

Cell: : ' ~r

e-mail: harvey.rice@,chron.com
 IN TEE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS
HOUSTON DMSION
CABLE NEWS NETWORK LP, 9
LLLP, AND MICHAEL CARY 0
9
Plaintiffs, 8
V. 8 C.A. NO.H-
9
MICHAEL D. BROWN,in his 5
capacity as Under Secretary of 9
Homeland Security for Emergency
Preparedness and Response, and
0
9
H-05 -3170
-
Director of tbe FEDERAL 8
EMERGENCY MANAGEmNT 5
AGENCY, 8
6
Defendants. §

ORDER GRANTING PLAINTIFE'S' APPLICATION FOR TEMPORARY

RESTRAINING ORDER AND APPLICATION FOR INJUNCTIVE RELIEF

Plaintiffs Cable News Network L.P.,LLLP and Michael Cary in this cause have filed a

Verified Complaint, Application for Temporary Restraining Order and Application for

Injunctive Relief and in connection therewith have presented a request for a temporary

restraining order as set forth in their Complaint.

The Court hereby finds, that unless Defendants are immediately restrained fiom the acts

set forth below, Plaintiffs' First Amendment right to be fiee of prior restraint and its First

Amendment and common law rights to access will be denied and the result will be an

impermissible prior restraint on publication on the basis of content:

Defendants and their agents have declared to Plaintif& that no press coverage
will be allowed during recovery of the deceased victims of Hurricane Katrina.
 The Court finds that if the commission of these acts is not restrained immediately,

Plaintiffs will suffer irreparable harm and injury because they will be denied their constitutional

right of access to news, information and images of the deceased victims' recovery efforts in the

hurricane disaster, and access to gather news, information and images concerning the operations

and activities of government. The government's efforts also constitute an unconstitutional prior

restraint and that Plaintiffs' and the general public's interests will be ineparably harmed because

the governments operations and activities will be conducted in secret.

The Court hereby finds, that immediate and irreparable injury, loss and harm will result
#

to Plaintiffs in that Defendants have represented that the ban would become effectively

immediately.

The Court finds that Plaintiffs have no adequate remedy at law because if not restrained,

Plaintifti will be denied access to what is going on in the deceased victims recovery efforts as it

is transpiring and likewise will be restrained from reporting on same.

For the foregoing reasons and the reasons set forth in the Complaint and Application for

Temporary Restraining Order, the Court enters the following order.

IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Defendants, their agents and anyone acting in concert

with them are hereby commanded forthwith to refi,ain from or affirmatively permitting:

Threatening action or taking any action to bar, impede or prevent Plaintiffs from
their newsgathering and reporting activities in connection with the deceased
hurricane Katrina victims recovery efforts, including access to the sites,
photographing or reporting.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Defendants, their agents.andanyone acting in concert

with them cease, desist and refiain fiom engaging in the conduct and activities described above

h m the date of the Order until 10 days after entry of the Order or until further order of this
-2-
4042435~.1
Court, whichever comes first.

IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Defendants appear before the Court on at

o'clock . m .in the Courtroom of , then and

there to show cause why a temporary injunction should not be issued to Plaintiffs.
The Court finds that no bond is required.

SIGNEDTHIS day of September, 2005, at o'clock -.m

JUDGE PRESIDING
 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS
HOUSTON DIVISION
CABLE NEWS NETWORK LP, §
LLLP, AND MICHAEL CARY §
6
Plaintiffs, §
v. 0 C.A. No. H-
§
MICHAEL D.BROWN,in his 9
capacity as Under Secretary of §
Homeland Security for Emergency §
Preparedness and Response, and §
Director of the FEDERAL, 8
EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT 8
AGENCY, 0
§
Defendants. 0

ORDER GRANTING PLAINTIFFS' APPLICATION FOR TEMPORARY

RESTRAINING ORDER AND APPLICATION FOR INJUNCTIVERELIEF

Plainti& Cable News Network L.P., LLLP and Michael Cary in this cause have fiIed a

Verified Complaint, Application for Temporary Restraining Order and Application for

Injunctive Relief and in connection therewith have presented a request for a temporary

restraining order as set forth in their Complaint.

The Court hereby finds, that unless Defendants are immediately restrained £?om the acts

set forth below, Plaintiffs' First Amendment right to be free of prior restraint and its F i t

Amendment and common law rights to access will be denied and the result will be an

impermissible prior restraint on publication on the basis of content:

Defendants and their agents have declared to Plaintiffs that no press coverage
will be allowed during recovery of the deceased victims of Hunicane Katrina
 The Court finds that if the commission of these acts is not restrained immediately,

Plaintiffs will suffer irreparable harm and injury because they will be denied their constitutional

right of access to news, information and images of the deceased victims' recovery efforts in the

hurricane disaster, and access to gather news, information and images concerning the operations

and activities of government. The government's efforts also constitute an unconstitutional prior

restraint and that Plaintiffs' and the general public's interests will be irreparably harmed because

the governments operations and activities will be conducted in secret.

The Court hereby finds, that immediate and irreparable injury, loss and harm will result

to Plaintiffs in that Defendants have represented that the ban would become effectively

immediately.

The Court finds that Plaintiffs have no adequate remedy at law because if not restrained,

Plaintiffs will be denied access to what is going on in the deceased victims recovery efforts as it

is transpiring and likewise will be restrained from reporting on same.

For the foregoing reasons and the reasons set forth in the Complaint and Application for

Temporary Restraining Order, the Court enters the following order.

IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Defendants, their agents and anyone acting in concert

with them are hereby commanded forthwith to refirain fiom or affirmatively permitting:

Threatening action or taking any action to bar, impede or prevent Plaintiffs fiom
their newsgathering and reporting activities in connection with the deceased
hurricane Katrina victims recovery efforts, including access to the sites,
photographing or reporting.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Defendants, their agents and anyone acting in concert

with them cease, desist and refrain fiom engaging in the conduct and activities described above

from the date of the Order until 10 days after entry of the Order or until further order of this
-2-
4042435~.1
Court, whichever comes first.

IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Defendants appear before the Court on at

o'clock . m . in the Courtroom of ,then and

there to show cause why a temporary injunction should not be issued to Plaintiffs.

The Court finds that no bond is required.

SIGNEDTHIS day of September, 2005, at o'clock . m

JUDGE PRESIDING
.* FEMA order Page 1 of I

Kinerney, Eugene

From: Kinerney, Eugene

Sent: Tuesday, September 13,2005 6:06 PM
To: Rule, Natalie
Subject: RE: FEMA order

Debbie has had the lead on this with Mark Pfiefle..

From: Rule, Natalie

Sent: Tuesday, September 13,2005 6:05 PM
To: Kinerney, Eugene
Cc: Bahamonde, Marty; Taylor, Cindy
Subject: FW: FEMA order

Butch: This reporter just called asking for a response to the fact that the Keith Ellison, southern district of Texas,
just hosted a conference call at 4 p.m. today and said he would consider holding FEMA in contempt as we have
had more than enough time - as the federal coordination entity - to let all parties know that they cannot block
media from filming the body retrieval. Apparently after this judge provided a temporary restraining order (issued
Saturday) allowing media to cover what they need, CNN came back and complained that they are still being
blocked by national guard and others. So they complained, and this conference call took place.

I think you have worked on this issue so far ....g uess we need to be quite careful now that is a law suit. Who from
OGC do we need to bring in.
x-.--.-..-.----- .<.., .... - ..... . . .. . - . . . . . -. --".

From: Rice, Harvey ~maiito:Harvey.Rice@chron.com]

Sent: Tuesday, September 13, 2005 5:22 PM
To: Rule, Natalie
Subject: FEMA order

Harvey Rice

reporter, Houston Chronicle

Cell: -
Office: 7 13-362-6374

e-mail: harvey.rice@chron.com
60
;. Kinerney, Eugene
From: Kinerney, Eugene
Sent: Tuesday, September 13,2005 7:28 PM
To: Bahamonde, Marty; Rule, Natalie
Subject: Statement on photos of recovery supposedly from Allen

From:

To: Hurricane Katrina Operations Personnel

Subject: Dignified Recovery of Human Remains

1) Ensuring the dignified recovery of remains of those who lost their lives in the devastating tragedy is of critical
importance.

2) Although the media will not be embedded with Hurricane Katrina Operations, the media may be in the vicinity of a
recovery operation and may endeavor to cover this mission. Thus, interaction between Hurricane Katrina Operations
personnel and the media may result. Hurricane Katrina Operations personnel must be sensitive to the importance of
ensuring a dignified recovery. If the media are in the vicinity of a recovery operation, they will be permitted to observe the
operation from public property at a reasonable distance outside of the house, business or other structure in which the
recovery operation is taking place. Media access will be addressed in cooperation with local authorities and consisten with
the safety of all persons and the security and dignity of the operation.
*" no luck reaching fema Page 1 of 2

Kinerney, Eugene
P -.,-

From: Kinerney, Eugene

Sent: Tuesday, September 13,2005 7:52 PM
To: 'Rice, Harvey'
Cc: Rule, Natalie
Subject: RE: no luck reaching fema
Importance: High

Just for the record:

FEMA never issued any guidance, order, directive, rule or any other official communication regarding any
photography or videography of the deceased. There was one comment made to one reporter by a FEMA
employee which was taken out of context and which was interpreted by some to mean that we were restricting
photography of the dead. FEMA's policy has always been that the dignity of the deceased is of the highest
priority and that news organizations should use their judgement when deciding to photograph or publish images of
bodies. That policy is made out of respect for the dead and their next of kin.

From: Rice, Harvey [mailto:Hatvey.Rice@chron.com]

Sent: Tuesday, September 13, 2005 7:42 PM
To: Kinerney, Eugene
Subject: RE: no luck reaching fema

I can't get in touch with them this late.

-
Harvey Rice
reporter, Houston Chronicle
Office: 713-362-6374
Cell:
Fax: 7 13-228-3408
e-mail: harvey.rice@chron.com
66

-----Original Message-----
From: Kinerney, Eugene [mailto:Butch.Kinerney@dhs.gov]
Sent: Tuesday, September 13, 2005 6:38 PM
To: Rice, Harvey
Subject: RE: no luck reaching fema

Did you try the US Atty in Houston?

. " - - -
From: Rice, Harvey [mailto:Hatvey.Rice@chron.com]
Sent: Tuesday, September 13, 2005 7:39 PM
To: Kinerney, Eugene
Subject: RE: no luck reaching fema

Thanks. I'm passed my deadline, but have been able to put my editors off for awhile. I won't be able to
wait more than 20 minutes.
' no luck reaching fema Page 2 o f 2

Harvey Rice
reporter, Houston Chronicle
Office: 7 13-362-6374
Cell:
, -- '

Fax: 7 13-228-3408
e-mail: harvey.rice@chron.com

-----Original Message-----
From: Kinerney, Eugene [mailto:Butch.Kinerney@dhs.gov]
Sent: Tuesday, September 13, 2005 6:35 PM
To: Rule, Natalie; Rice, Harvey
Subject: RE: no luck reaching fema

Harvey, still trying to get some clarification from our legal folks.

In the meantime, the Military apparently sent out some guidance to field staff that might be useful.
Contact is Colonel re He's in Baton Rouge

From: Rule, Natalie

Sent: Tuesday, September 13, 2005 6:06 PM
To: 'Rice, Harvey'
Cc: Kinerney, Eugene
Subject: RE: no luck reaching fema

I am on a conference call right now and cannot get off. Just provided all your info to Butch
Kinerney in my shop. 202-646-4600. He will need just a bit of time to check on this. What is
your precise deadline?

From: Rice, Harvey [mailto:Harvey.Rice@chron.com]

Sent: Tuesday, September 13, 2005 6:06 PM
To: Rule, Natalie
Subject: no luck reaching fema

Natalie, no one is answering at the Baton Rouge number. What's your direct line in D.C.?

Harvey Rice

reporter, Houston Chronicle

Office: 713-362-6374

Cell: I

e-mail: harvey.rice@chron.com