President Barack Obama was reportedly "furious" when he learned that one of his Presidential airplanes had flown low over Manhattan, scaring many residents and workers there.
White House Spokesman Robert Gibbs said Tuesday that the overflight, a military training mission that was also designed to get promotional photographs, infuriated the President when he and his senior staff found out about it.
"I have firsthand knowledge that the President was furious," Gibbs said, hinting that the President's anger could be heard outside of the Oval Office. "I wasn't at the meeting, but I think we can all rest assured that we weren't at that meeting with the Chief of Staff."
White House Military Office Director Louis Caldera Monday took responsibility for ordering the flight, and Gibbs said Tuesday that neither he, the President, White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel nor Deputy Chief of Staff Jim Messina knew about it in advance.
Obama has ordered Messina to conduct an internal review of what led to the authorization of the flight to determine how and why the decision was made and to ensure that nothing similar ever happens, Gibbs said.
Gibbs said he expects the review to take only a few weeks but could not commit without clearing it with White House lawyers whether the results would be made public. He would not say whether Caldera would lose his job over the incident, however.
"The President has rightly asked that a review of the situation and the decision-making be undertaken so that we can have a better understanding of why that decision might have been made," Gibbs said.
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