[R-G] 9/11 Commish Quizzes Self

[David.Mcr@earthlink.net]

-----Original Message-----
From: cord macguire <cordymac at hotmail.com>
Sent: Jan 14, 2004 11:44 PM
To: cordymac at hotmail.com
Subject: 9/11 Commish Quizzes Self

One last item for today.
This fish stinks.   -Cord

2 on 9/11 Panel Are Questioned on Earlier Security Roles
//////////////////////////////////////////////////
by ERIC LICHTBLAU and JAMES RISEN
New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/01/15/national/15TERR.html
January 15, 2004


WASHINGTON, Jan. 14 — The executive director of the independent commission 
investigating the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks has become a witness in 
the inquiry and has been interviewed by his own staff about his involvement 
in shaping the Bush administration's early counterterrorism strategy, 
officials said on Wednesday.

In addition, one of the 10 commissioners on the panel, a deputy attorney 
general in the Clinton administration, was also interviewed this week. The 
unusual dual roles of the director, Philip D. Zelikow, and the commissioner, 
Jamie S. Gorelick, have raised fresh questions about potential conflicts of 
interest in the commission, which has been dogged by concerns about its 
independence since it was created in 2002.

In the transition before President Bush's inauguration in January 2001, Mr. 
Zelikow worked on Mr. Bush's team to help formulate national security 
policy. Because he participated in those discussions, investigators 
interviewed him to learn how much information the incoming administration 
had about the possibility of a major attack and what steps it took to guard 
against that threat.

The transition period between the Clinton and Bush administrations remains a 
sensitive issue, particularly in an election year. Many conservatives and 
supporters of Mr. Bush have argued that President Bill Clinton did not do 
enough to deal with the threat from Al Qaeda. Some Democrats and former 
Clinton administration officials have countered that the Bush administration 
did not take terrorism seriously enough, either, before 9/11.

Mr. Zelikow, a staff member of the National Security Council in the first 
Bush administration and a close associate of Condoleezza Rice, the national 
security adviser, has been a target of criticism because of concerns that 
his role as executive director of the Sept. 11 commission could pose a 
potential conflict. But it had not previously been disclosed that the panel 
interviewed him about the early planning of the Bush administration.

"He does have information that could be of interest to the commission's 
report," a spokesman for the commission, Al Felzenberg, said. "He wanted to 
be interviewed. He said, `If I have anything that can be germane, ask me, 
and I'll tell you what I saw and what I heard and what I recommended.' "

Mr. Zelikow declined to be interviewed about the issue because of commission 
policy, Mr. Felzenberg said. Commission officials said they did not believe 
that his role as a witness would impede the investigation because he had 
removed himself from decisions or oversight involving his work on the 
transition team. But the general counsel is continuing to examine the terms 
of his recusal to determine whether it goes far enough to avoid any possible 
conflicts, officials said.

"This is not a closed issue," said a commission official.

In addition, Ms. Gorelick, one of the 10 commissioners to whom Mr. Zelikow 
reports, said she had been interviewed this week about her involvement in 
terrorism policy. She was the top deputy in the mid-90's to Attorney General 
Janet Reno. Like Mr. Zelikow, she has also recused herself from dealings 
involving decisions in which she was involved.

Officials said Ms. Gorelick and two other commission members had also 
withdrawn from involvement in aviation issues because their law firms had 
airlines as clients. A handful of other staff members besides Mr. Zelikow 
have recused themselves from specific areas, as well, because of past 
positions.

Mr. Zelikow and Ms. Gorelick are the sole commission officials known to have 
been interviewed. They are also the only two commission officials with wide 
access to highly classified White House documents.

Mr. Zelikow's arrangement has caused particular concern among some 
commission officials because it means that the man responsible for the 
day-to-day operations of the panel will be removed from what could be an 
important part of its inquiry.

Kristen Breitweiser, whose husband died in the World Trade Center and who 
has helped lead a group of survivors pushing for more answers about the 
attacks, said the situation called into question the independence of the 
commission.

"He has a huge conflict of interest," Ms. Breitweiser said when told that 
Mr. Zelikow had been interviewed. "This is what we've been concerned about 
from Day 1."

Her concern, Ms. Breitweiser said, is that the commission report "is going 
to be a whitewash."

"What we want to know is why they didn't investigate Osama bin Laden 
sooner," she added.

Her group plans to meet commission officials on Thursday, and family members 
are likely to raise their concerns about possible conflicts, she said.

Ms. Gorelick said potential conflicts and recusals were the price that the 
commission had to pay for having workers with extensive experience in 
national security.

"You want to have people who are knowledgeable," she said. "So you make 
certain accommodations to have that, and the accommodations we've made don't 
undermine the investigation in any way."

Since its inception, the commission has been a focus of questions about 
whether possible conflicts could taint its findings. The White House's first 
choice for chairman, former Secretary of State Henry A. Kissinger, stepped 
down rather than release a list of business clients at his consulting firm.

Some family members had protested that Mr. Kissinger's ties to multinational 
corporations, foreign governments and the Republican establishment in 
Washington would make it difficult for him to lead an objective 
investigation.

The first choice of Congressional Democrats for vice chairman, George J. 
Mitchell, the former Senate leader, also stepped down after questions about 
possible conflicts over his corporate clients.

***

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