9/11 Panel Rejects White House Limits on Interviews

[kskiska]

WASHINGTON, March 2 — The independent commission investigating the Sept. 11 attacks is refusing to accept strict conditions from the White House for interviews with President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney and is renewing its request that Mr. Bush's national security adviser testify in public, commission members said Tuesday.

The panel members, interviewed after a private meeting on Tuesday, said the commission had decided for now to reject a White House request that the interview with Mr. Bush be limited to one hour and that the questioners be only the panel's chairman and vice chairman.

The members said the commission had also decided to continue to press the national security adviser, Condoleezza Rice, to reconsider her refusal to testify at a public hearing. Mr. Bush and Mr. Cheney are expected to be asked about how they had reacted to intelligence reports before Sept. 11, 2001, suggesting that Al Qaeda might be planning a large attack. Panel members want to ask Ms. Rice the same questions in public.

"We have held firm in saying that the conditions set by the president and vice president and Dr. Rice are not good enough," said Timothy J. Roemer, a former Indiana congressman who is one of five Democrats on the 10-member commission.

Mr. Roemer said that former President Bill Clinton and former Vice President Al Gore had agreed to meet privately with the full bipartisan commission, and that Samuel R. Berger, Ms. Rice's predecessor, would testify in public.

"It's very important that we treat both the Bush and the Clinton administrations the same," he said.

more…
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/03/03/politics/03PANE.html

[Whoa_Nelly]

1. Time to get tough!

Time to stop walking on eggshells around the Supreme ChimpMeister and Company.

[loftycity]

2. The Commission might be getting some backbone

with Super Turnout Tuesday. I think issues are going to shift. They know people are leaning toward LIHOP or MIHOP. I'm so happy to hear people talking about this openly and are not scared to talk about it anymore.

[SilasSoule]

3. How many stories of all the stonewalling, obstruction, stalling

and evasiveness from the fraudministration before huge masses of people seriously start questioning whether they have something to hide?

[Minstrel Boy]

8. Do most people even know there is a 9/11 commission?

Is it just us, and Aaron freakin' Brown?

[gandalf]

14. Certainly not in Germay

that is sure. And my detailed letter and my email to the editor changed nothing, of course.

[grasswire]

4. arghhhhhhhhhh!

"Commission officials said that if the White House continued to insist on limitations on the interviews with Mr. Bush and Mr. Cheney, there might be little that the panel could do to force the issue and that the commission might have to accept the White House's terms.

And they said that despite internal conversation about the possibility of issuing a subpoena for Ms. Rice's public testimony, that move was unlikely. Ms. Rice provided several hours of private testimony last month and has suggested that she is willing to answer additional questions behind closed doors."

[AZCat]

5. Good for Clinton and Gore

I knew (and so did many other DU'ers) that Clinton and Gore agreeing to unlimited interviews with the panel would put pressure on Bush and Cheney to match them. Now if the panel would go ahead and issue subpoenas, we can move forward- because I think regardless of the pressure, Bush, Cheney and Rice will refuse these demands absent actual subpoenas.

[Oilwellian]

6. This is encouraging

Perhaps I'll refrain from sending calcium supplements to the Commission. :D

[dusty64]

12. Not yet, note

the words "for now". This is just more BS. Can anyone even imagine a Democratic WH getting away with any of this.

[JoFerret]

7. Wow! Great news

WTG. If the pressure is kept up who knows what can happen. Even members of Cheney's energy panel...........?

[leesa]

9. Good. Someone with some courage, finally!

Subpoena the lot of 'em, have them testify under oathe and then off to the Hague for trial.

[jburton]

10. This is terrible PR for *

The Clinton administration says "No problem, we'll testify"

The Bush* administration hides.

This is a very simple concept that is easy for average people to grasp -- they don't have to be political junkies to see through this.

[Disturbed]

11. Subpeana them now!!!

Develope a spine folks!!!!

[jeanmarc]

13. Yes!

What sort of ahole thinks it's okay to tell a commission that they are limited to one stinking hour for the deaths of 3000? Barbara and George 41 are about the worst parents imaginable.

[underpants]

15. Well he IS busy for the next week FUND RAISING

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x396972