WASHINGTON – A dozen leading Democratic Senators – citing the White House’s “poor record of cooperation” with the September 11th commission – pressed President Bush Tuesday to comply at once with the commission’s document requests. In a letter to the President dated November 4, 2003, the Senators expressed concern over President Bush’s recent statements regarding the sensitivity of some of the requested documents and his fear that they may become “politicized” if turned over to the Commission.
“The Commissioners and their staff, all of whom have appropriate security clearances, do not have a political agenda,” the Senators wrote. “They recognize very well that we have entrusted them with an awesome responsibility, to all living Americans, to future generations, and to the countless victims of terrorism. “Their mission must not be thwarted by efforts at damage control, by arguments about ‘presidential prerogatives’ and protecting the rights of ‘future Presidents,’ when what is really at stake is the Commission’s obligation to help us understand what happened, so as to prevent devastating terrorist attacks from occurring again in the future.” Signing the letter were Governmental Affairs Committee Ranking Member Joe Lieberman, D-Conn., Appropriations Committee Ranking Member Robert Byrd, D-W.Va., Commerce Committee Ranking Member Ernest Hollings, D-S.C., Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Pat Leahy, D-Vt., Foreign Affairs Committee Ranking Member Joe Biden, D-Del., Rules Committee Ranking Member Chris Dodd, D-Conn., Intelligence Committee Co-Chair Jay Rockefeller, D-W. Val., and Senators Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., Jon Corzine, D-N.J., and. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J. Lieberman and Senator John McCain, R-Ariz., authored the legislation creating the commission to investigate the events leading up to and surrounding the worst attack on the U.S. in our history. By law, the commission must complete its work by the end of May 2004. Yet, it has been negotiating for months with the White House over obtaining a variety of documents it needs, including the President’s daily intelligence briefings. “Any additional delays caused by your Administration might well make it impossible for the Commission to finish its work before the statutory deadline,” the Senators concluded. Attached is a copy of the letter: November 4, 2003 President George W. Bush The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., NW Washington, DC 20500 Dear Mr. President: We write to share with you our serious concerns about your Administration’s poor record of cooperation with the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks upon the United States. Governor Thomas Kean, whom you appointed to chair the Commission, has been forced to speak out publicly regarding your Administration’s refusal thus far to turn over key documents the Commission needs to complete its inquiry. We are also troubled by your recent statements that the White House may consider some documents too sensitive to provide to the Commission. After months of frustratingly slow negotiations over these and other documents, any additional delays caused by your Administration might well make it impossible for the Commission to finish its work before the statutory deadline. Congress established the Commission to pursue the unvarnished truth about the horrific attacks of September 11, 2001, and to issue findings and recommendations about how to prevent future attacks. In order to provide the full accounting the American public deserves, the Commission must be granted full access to the Presidential Daily Briefs and other White House materials, documents that reflect not only what the intelligence agencies knew about the terrorist threat, but also how effectively the information was communicated to the highest levels of government. In your recent statements, you expressed the fear that these documents would somehow become “politicized” if they are turned over to the Commission. This concern is unwarranted, and suggests a failure to appreciate the Commission’s historic role. The Commissioners and their staff, all of whom have appropriate security clearances, do not have a political agenda. They recognize very well that we have entrusted them with an awesome responsibility, to all living Americans, to future generations, and to the countless victims of terrorism. Their mission must not be thwarted by efforts at damage control, by arguments about “presidential prerogatives” and protecting the rights of “future Presidents,” when what is really at stake is the Commission’s obligation to help us understand what happened, so as to prevent devastating terrorist attacks from occurring again in the future. We urge you to fully cooperate with the Commission and provide the information it is seeking. Sincerely,