Lesley Pacey, an investigator with the Government Accountability Project, on Sunday said that while the people of East Palestine, Ohio, were dealing with the aftermath of the train derailment, which launched a cloud of toxic vinyl chloride into the air and water causing dead fish to float up from the river, the Biden administration was discussing internally whether to release to the public a report detailing the event may have caused "cancer clusters."

Pacey told NewsNation that an unmet needs report taken by a FEMA official showed that the agency "knew health care was the No. 1 issue."

The investigator had obtained FEMA documents via a Freedom of Information Act request. They showed extensive coordination between the emergency management agency, the White House, the National Security Council, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Justice Department, voicing concerns about the resident's health. But they chose not to tell the public. Notably, during his 2024 campaign, President Joe Biden had been scheduled to visit East Palestine but never did.

Pacey added, "They also knew that they called this plume a really toxic plume. They knew that there would be the potential for cancer clusters."

FEMA said "the occurrence of a cancer-cluster in [East Palestine] is not zero" and noted the need for a "tripwire to identify cancer clusters."

"It was only discussed internally, and it actually was discussed all the way up to the White House," she added.

"There's White House officials and National Security Council officials discussing the dangers of the cancer cluster potential and the health issues and discussing whether or not to release the unmet needs report to the public and to the media."

The "Unmet Needs Report," never released to the public, followed after FEMA executive Jim McPherson visited East Palestine in September 2023 to assess the damage to the community.

Pacey said residents had nicknamed McPherson "as the ghost of October, because they were expecting him to be there in October but never could get a hold of him."

NewsNation had obtained an email showing that the McPherson was instructed not to engage with residents.

"We're supposed to believe that's not how our country runs," East Palestine resident Christa Graves said. "And I'm starting to see that's how our country is always run."

A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson commented on the affair, stating, "Emails of FEMA ignoring a potential cancer cluster breakout in East Palestine, Ohio, under the Biden administration is yet another outrageous example of the gross mismanagement and poor treatment of Americans under the prior administration.

"Add this debacle to the long list of FEMA failures under Biden, ignoring sexual assault claims in Hawaii, a complete inadequate response to Hurricane Helene in Western North Carolina, and spending hundreds of millions of dollars to house illegal aliens, including Laken Riley's killer. This will never happen again under the leadership of President [Donald] Trump and [DHS] Secretary [Kristi] Noem."

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