9/11 Commission Says U.S. Agencies Slow Its Inquiry

[hedgetrimmer]

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/07/08/politics/08CND-TERR.html?ex=1058706748&ei=1&en=55611cdf80ffc8a8

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By PHILIP SHENON


WASHINGTON, July 8 — The federal commission investigating the Sept. 11 terror attacks said today that its work was being hampered by the failure of executive branch agencies, especially the Pentagon and the Justice Department, to respond quickly to requests for documents and testimony.



The panel also said the failure of the Bush administration to allow officials to be interviewed without the presence of government colleagues could impede its investigation, with the commission's chairman suggesting today that the situation amounted to "intimidation" of the witnesses.

In what they acknowledged was an effort to bring public pressure on the White House to meet the panel's demands for classified information, the commission's Republican chairman and Democratic vice chairman released a statement, declaring that they had received only a small part of the millions of sensitive government documents they have requested from the executive branch.

While praising President Bush and top aides for their personal commitment to the panel's work, the commission's leaders — the chairman, Tom Kean, the former Republican governor of New Jersey, and Lee H. Hamilton, the former Democratic member of the House from Indiana — said that federal agencies under Mr. Bush's control were not cooperating quickly or fully.

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[VolcanoJen]

1. Dupe... locking

Please continue discussion by posting in the earliest, original thread on this topic, which can be found here:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=2487&mesg_id=2487&listing_type=search

Hedgetrimmer, your link to the New York Times article would be helpful in the original thread.

Thanks!
VolcanoJen
DU Moderator