White House spokesman brushes off questions about jet’s photo-op over NYC

August 11th, 2009 WASHINGTON - House Democratic leaders have said they will not force the Pentagon to buy four new passenger jets for ferrying senior government officials after the reported 330 million dollar move invited all round criticism. Two of the four planes were to be C-37s - the military equivalent of the fancy Gulfstream 550.

July 25th, 2009 SPIN METER: Few health exec visits to WH publicWASHINGTON — Despite President Barack Obama's promise of transparency on his health care overhaul, few White House meetings with medical industry representatives on a list recently released by his administration were made public at the time, an Associated Press review found. Obama, when asked about the meetings at his news conference Wednesday evening, said that "on the list of health care executives who've visited us, most of the time you guys have been in there taking pictures, so it hasn't been a secret." "Frankly, these have mostly been at least photo sprays where you could see who was participating," he added.

July 20th, 2009 Obama news conference moved to 8 p.m. WednesdayWASHINGTON — The White House says President Barack Obama's news conference on Wednesday will begin at 8 p.m.

July 11th, 2009 WASHINGTON - A reporter behind the controversial G-8 photo, which depicts U.S. President Barack Obama seemingly checking out a woman's rear, has now lent some clarity to it.

June 13th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Even as US President Barack Obama congratulated Congress for passing tough new tobacco regulations, the White House admitted on June 12 that the commander-in-chief himself was still struggling to do away with his smoking 'addiction'. When White House spokesman Robert Gibbs was asked if the president still smoked, he replied that Obama has "a struggle with nicotine addiction" every day.

May 9th, 2009 WASHINGTON - The White House aide who authorized the controversial Air Force One photo-op flight last week around the Statue of Liberty is out of a job. President Obama has accepted the resignation of Louis Caldera, the director of the White House Military Office, the Daily News learned Friday.

May 9th, 2009 Aide resigns over NYC flyover; probe continuesWASHINGTON — The Pentagon and Air Force are reviewing whether their officials may be partly to blame for a $328,835 photo-op of a jumbo jet used by the president soaring above New York City that has already forced the White House military director to step down. Former Army Secretary Louis Caldera, the White House aide who authorized the flyover, resigned under fire Friday as the Obama administration tried to move past the embarrassing incident that sent panicked workers rushing into the streets amid flashbacks of Sept.

May 9th, 2009 AP Source: White House aide loses job over flyoverWASHINGTON — A White House aide has lost his job for his role in Air Force One's photo-op flyover over New York City. A White House official says Obama has accepted the resignation of military office director Louis Caldera.

May 9th, 2009 White House to release review of low-flying planeWASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Robert Gates says the Air Force flyover that sparked panic in New York City was not adequately reviewed and approved by senior service and department officials. In a letter this week to Sen.

April 29th, 2009 WASHINGTON - A furious President Barack Obama has ordered an internal investigation into a photo-op featuring the presidential jet that sent thousands of New Yorkers running for their lives. White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said Tuesday Obama was "furious" when he heard about the incident and has ordered a deputy chief of staff of find out "why that decision was made and to ensure that it never happens again." The 747 plane, with an F-16 escort following close behind, circled the Statue of Liberty and the skyline near the World Trade Center site for about a half-hour.

April 28th, 2009 Recriminations after NYC jet flyover photo opNEW YORK — It was supposed to be a photo op that captured images of an Air Force One plane with a majestic Statue of Liberty in the background. Instead, it turned into a public relations nightmare that led to recriminations from the president and mayor and prompted thousands of others to ask, "What were they thinking?" Just before the workday began on Monday, an airliner and supersonic fighter jet zoomed past the lower Manhattan skyline.

April 28th, 2009 Recriminations fly after NYC jet flyover photo opNEW YORK — It was supposed to be a photo op that captured images of an Air Force One plane with a majestic Statue of Liberty in the background. Instead, it turned into a public relations nightmare that led to recriminations from the president and mayor and prompted thousands other to ask, "What were they thinking?" Just before the workday began on Monday, an airliner and supersonic fighter jet zoomed past the lower Manhattan skyline.

April 28th, 2009 WASHINGTON - White House Military Office Director Louis Caldera has apologized for any panic caused by a flight mission and photo op that looked like Air Force One and fighter jets heading toward the New York City skyline Monday morning. Caldera said he approved the mission last week and that federal authorities took the proper steps to notify state and local authorities in New York and New Jersey.

April 28th, 2009 Source: White House was updating AF One file photoWASHINGTON — An administration official says a presidential Boeing 747 and a fighter jet flew low near ground zero in New York City Monday because the White House Military Office wanted to update its file photo of the president's plane near the Statue of Liberty. This official said the White House Military Office told the Federal Aviation Administration that it periodically updates file photos of Air Force One near national landmarks, like the statute in New York harbor and the Grand Canyon.

April 27th, 2009 White House apologizes for Air Force One photo-opWASHINGTON — A White House official is taking responsibility for a Boeing 747's flying photo op over New York City that sent some workers in lower Manhattan into a panic. The plane is a version of the 747 that's called Air Force One when the president is aboard.