White House defends Sept 11 training exercise, criticizes irroneous media reports

White House defends Sept 11 training exercise

WASHINGTON — The White House is defending the Coast Guard’s decision to hold a training exercise in the Potomac River on the anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks.

Spokesman Robert Gibbs says he doesn’t believe the White House was notified about the training exercise. He says if law enforcement felt there was a need for the exercise it’s “best not to second-guess.”

Gibbs sharply criticized CNN for airing an inaccurate report that shots were fired during the exercise, saying “before we report things like this, checking would be good.”

The training exercise took place near the route President Barack Obama traveled to a Sept. 11 ceremony at the Pentagon around the same time.