Former Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge confirms a long-held suspicion among Bush critics, writing in a new autobiography that he “was pushed to raise the security alert on the eve of President Bush’s re-election, something he saw as politically motivated and worth resigning over,” reports Politico.com. Promotional materials for Ridge's “The Test of Our Times: America Under Siege [] and How We Can Be Safe Again” make the charge, which is denied by former Bush advisers. At thet time, Ridge refused to change the threat level.
“We went over backwards repeatedly and with great discipline to make sure politics did not influence any national security and homeland security decisions,” former White House chief of staff Andy Card told Politico. “The clear instructions were to make sure politics never influenced anything.” Former White House homeland security adviser Fran Townsend added: “I'm a little mystified. Never in my experience did I see any political influence exerted on the cabinet secretary.”