Jindal’s Tall Katrina Tale

If Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal could have one career do-over, he might opt to use it on the speech he gave Tuesday. Not only did his performance induce cringes on both sides of the aisle, but now, according to TPMMuckraker, it looks as if the part of his speech about Hurricane Katrina (to many the most baffling part) wasn’t exactly true.

TPMMuckraker:

Jindal had described being in the office of Sheriff Harry Lee “during Katrina,” and hearing him yelling into the phone at a government bureaucrat who was refusing to let him send volunteer boats out to rescue stranded storm victims, because they didn’t have the necessary permits. Jindal said he told Lee, “that’s ridiculous,” prompting Lee to tell the bureaucrat that the rescue effort would go ahead and he or she could arrest both Lee and Jindal.

But now, a Jindal spokeswoman has admitted to Politico that in reality, Jindal overheard Lee talking about the episode to someone else by phone “days later.” The spokeswoman said she thought Lee, who died in 2007, was being interviewed about the incident at the time.

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