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Acting Chief of the White House, Mick Mulvaney, has asked US Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross to address the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the US. correct the facts "after the weather forecast contradicted President Donald Trump's assertion that Alabama would be on the trajectory of Hurricane Dorian, a senior official. A House official told ABC News on Wednesday.
This development occurred as congressional Democrats asked for answers on how and why NOAA issued a statement in favor of Trump.
The White House official said Mulvaney had not ordered Ross to threaten dismissal or other threats, but forecasters had overstepped their contradictions with the president, saying Trump was right in saying that Alabama could To be touched. by the storm.
Jacquelyn Martin / AP, FILE
The New York Times was the first to report the White House's direct involvement in the administration's efforts to pressure NOAA to publicly repudiate forecasters who had tweeted that "Alabama will see no impact of #Dorian ".
President Trump denied Wednesday any personal involvement in forcing the federal science agency to take corrective action.
"No, I've never done that," Trump told the Oval Office press. "It was a hoax about the hurricane when they talked about Alabama – it was a false news from the beginning – it was a false story."
Kevin Dietsch / EPA via Shutterstock
Commerce department officials called the story "false". The inspector general of the department said the problems were now "under review".
A separate spokesman for the Commerce Department said: "Secretary Ross has threatened to return NOAA staff members for any forecasts and public statements regarding Hurricane Dorian."
Last week, President Trump also denied having been made aware of the modification of this weather map with a black marker to show Alabama on the way to Dorian.
But many sources at the White House have since confirmed to ABC News that it was Trump himself who had drawn on the map.
The members of Congress were informed Tuesday of the threat of dismissal of NOAA personnel, according to people close to the conversations in progress.
On Wednesday, Democratic senators sent a letter to the Inspector General of Commerce asking for answers.
"The scientists of the federal government work for the American people, not for the private sector or the personal vanity of the president. Across the country, individuals and families rely on weather forecasts to determine everything from what they wear every day to the decision to evacuate a home during extreme weather events. As deadly extreme weather conditions become more prevalent, maintaining public confidence in these reports becomes increasingly important. Agency officials should not sacrifice trustworthy weather information to gain political gain, "the senators wrote in the letter.
Democratic Senator Mazie Hirono of Hawaii has criticized the Trump government for allegedly retaliating against NOAA employees.
"I am extremely concerned that there is a threat of firing people, disciplining people for stating facts, this should worry us all," Hirono told ABC News. "Unfortunately, this administration is absolutely right not to rely on facts or scientific data. They have a position and everyone has to comply with it. "
She added, "It's very dangerous for our country, but it's been happening practically since the president took office because he's lying every day and he just wants people around him who will allow him to continue to lie to the American people. "
Matthew Vann, Katherine Faulders and John Santucci of ABC News contributed to this report.
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