Federal Judge has Oprah Moment

This is the kind of news story that leaves me with my jaw on the floor. A big hat tip to Atrios for bringing this story to my attention. From the Associated Press:

NEW YORK - A federal judge blasted former Environmental Protection Agency chief Christine Todd Whitman on Thursday for reassuring New Yorkers soon after the Sept. 11 attacks that it was safe to return to their homes and offices while toxic dust was polluting the neighborhood.

U.S. District Judge Deborah A. Batts refused to grant Whitman immunity against a class-action lawsuit brought in 2004 by residents, students and workers in lower Manhattan and Brooklyn who said they were exposed to hazardous materials from the collapse of the World Trade Center.

"No reasonable person would have thought that telling thousands of people that it was safe to return to lower Manhattan, while knowing that such return could pose long-term health risks and other dire consequences, was conduct sanctioned by our laws," the judge said.

She called Whitman's actions "conscience-shocking," saying the EPA chief knew that the fall of the twin towers released tons of hazardous materials into the air. [Emphasis Added]

While I'm tempted to do a happy dance, the reality behind this tongue lashing of Whitman is abhorrent. As I have mentioned once before in an earlier 9/11 post, I live in downtown Manhattan. And although the East Village is a few neighborhoods away from where the towers once stood, the chemical-laden smell permeated everything downtown for weeks on end. I remember coming back to the East Village in mid-November, after a week in London, and being hit with that smell once again. Let me emphasize, that was November, two full months later and the smell was still lingering around town. No one around me felt great during the months after September 11th and we were at least a mile from ground zero. I cannot imagine the health effects on the people living and working directly near the fallen towers. The air was not safe, the EPA was full of shit, and Judge Deborah A. Batts should be lauded for her decision and for the courage to pen such a scathing criticism.

And let's also remember why the White House felt it was necessary to declare that downtown Manhattan was safe: Wall Street.

“It was much more important to open up Wall St. than it was to worry about our health,” said former city councilperson and Downtown resident Kathryn Freed, who added that she has experienced respiratory problems since Sept. 11, 2001.

Judge Batts gives me hope that the lies perpetrated by the Bush administration will eventually come back to haunt them. Maybe Earl really is onto something with this karma thing.

Now, is there any chance this lawsuit begins before the 2006 election?

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Update: Why hasn't the corporate media made this a bigger story? This is crazy. The NYT has the story BURIED in the NY/Regional section. I could barely find it on the web page. This is a national story! This is about holding King George accountable. I'm so frustrated.