9/11 Panel Gets Access to Clinton Records

[emad]

<snip>
WASHINGTON (AP) - The federal panel reviewing the Sept. 11 attacks will determine early next week whether thousands of classified counterterrorism documents from the Clinton administration were unduly held back by aides to President Bush.

The Bush administration granted the Sept. 11 commission access to the documents Friday after Bruce Lindsey, who was legal adviser to former President Clinton, said officials didn't turn over all of Clinton's records to the panel.

The commission's lawyers will begin reviewing the material Monday and should know by Tuesday if additional documents should be released, panel commission spokesman Al Felzenberg said Friday.

``Mr. Lindsey voiced a concern. We shared the concern. So they have come up with a way of assuring us that we have access to the materials we need,'' Felzenberg said. ``We'll know quickly if there are materials we should have or if they are duplicates.''

<snip>

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uslatest/story/0,1282,-3935527,00.html


Hmmm....I once had a row with James Rubin about this. He's been based in London a while and acted as a link man for journos covering the 9/11 story in Europe. Very reticent kind of guy...

[DemonFighterLives]

1. What is with these crooks?

First condi won't testify, then she will. Clinton releases all sorts of documents which the Bush team either scrubs, deletes, shreads, stonewalls or whatever they are doing. Hopefully this slow trickle will turn into a landslide.
What about the 28 pages redacted from the congressional report? What about the 12,000 pages from the Iraqi weapons report? These people are dangerous around valuable information. Well, at least we have W*'s teeth x-rays.

[underpants]

3. Sssssssssh they did it on Friday afternoon

(whispering) that way no one will notice in the THREE HUNDRED THOUSAND JOBS hoopla and people won't realise how they once again waffled and flip flopped.

[ElsewheresDaughter]

2. i heard that Clinton said "the Wh only relesed 25% of my documents

pertaining to terror i want the thousands of others relesed to the 911 Commission too"

[livetohike]

4. You can bet that the Bush admin wasn't trying to

protect Clinton by holding onto these documents. There must be some pretty incriminating details in there that they don't want to admit to as far as what they (Bush admin)might have known prior to their reign of terror.

This has to be bad for Bush.

[calimary]

7. Exactly. This bunch isn't predisposed toward doing Clinton any favors.

They're probably holding back on this because it verifies Richard Clarke's story, not Contradicta's.

I guess we're all forced to assume, by now, that if they're holding it back, it's because they're HIDING SOMETHING THEY DON'T WANT PEOPLE TO KNOW, AND MOST LIKELY BECAUSE IT'LL MAKE THEM LOOK BAD POLITICALLY. Remember all those stories and insider accounts even from very early-on in this White House blight, where it was repeatedly pointed out that EVERYTHING this bunch does is political?

[Whoa_Nelly]

5. Bush Executive Order so easy to abuse

Seem to remember that early on, Georgie signed an Executive Order that made access to any and all previous WH administration documents, as well as including his own, to be kept sealed unless these records were requested AND with good reason. So, Clinton administration records are readily released, but Shrub administration records will be kept secret, or are to be fought for keeping secret.

EXECUTIVE ORDER 13292
- - - - - - -

FURTHER AMENDMENT TO EXECUTIVE ORDER 12958, AS AMENDED,
CLASSIFIED NATIONAL SECURITY INFORMATION

<snip>
Sec. 4.4. Access by Historical Researchers and Certain Former Government Personnel. (a) The requirement in section 4.1(a)(3) of this order that access to classified information may be granted only to individuals who have a need-to-know the information may be waived for persons who:


(1) are engaged in historical research projects;
(2) previously have occupied policy-making positions to which they were appointed by the President under section 105(a)(2)(A) of title 3, United States Code, or the Vice President under 106(a)(1)(A) of title 3, United States Code; or

(3) served as President or Vice President.


(b) Waivers under this section may be granted only if the agency head or senior agency official of the originating agency:

(1) determines in writing that access is consistent with the interest of the national security;
(2) takes appropriate steps to protect classified information from unauthorized disclosure or compromise, and ensures that the information is safeguarded in a manner consistent with this order; and

(3) limits the access granted to former Presidential appointees and Vice Presidential appointees to items that the person originated, reviewed, signed, or received while serving as a Presidential appointee or a Vice Presidential appointee.


http://www.fas.org/sgp/bush/eoamend.html

[demgrrrll]

6. Access is the key word here. They will be able to LOOK at the documents

but I do not know if the documents will actually
be given to the panel. Reminds me of the Awol document dump if what I am thinking is accurate.