According to a court document released on Monday, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has been exonerated of any misconduct in an investigation into anti-Trump bias.
According to a Justice Department email included in the document, a FEMA investigation into alleged bias against Trump-supporting homes by a Florida-based FEMA employee following Hurricanes Milton and Helene “found no evidence that this was a systemic problem, nor that it was directed by agency or field leadership.”
The paper was part of a case in which Florida sued former FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell and an employee, Marn’i Washington; however, Florida and Criswell have now reached an agreement.
Sen. Ashley Moody (R-Florida), then the Sunshine State’s attorney general, claimed late last year that Criswell “agreed” to deny Trump supporters relief with Washington, who was fired.
“While the facts will continue to come out over the weeks and months, it is already clear that Defendant Washington conspired with senior FEMA officials, as well as those carrying out her orders, to violate the civil rights of Florida citizens,” according to Moody’s November lawsuit.
Several days before the original Florida lawsuit in the case, Criswell officially announced Washington’s termination and denounced his alleged actions.
“This is a clear violation of FEMA’s core values and principles of assisting people regardless of political affiliation.” “This was reprehensible,” Criswell stated in November.
Washington stated in an earlier interview that it was common practice to avoid specific neighborhoods after previous “hostile” exchanges, and that FEMA was unfairly blaming her.
“They all claimed that these measures were carried out on my own initiative and were motivated by my own political ambitions. However, looking at the data, there is what we term a community trend.
And, unfortunately, the political antagonism that my team encountered — and I was on two different teams during this deployment — coincided with the presence of Trump campaign signage,” Washington previously stated.
The Hill has contacted Washington, FEMA, and Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier for comment.
