[Diogenesis]

The constitution, assembly, organization, and conduct of this committee is
more than enough insight and evidence into EXACTLY
how we in America became vulnerable to the 911 Atrocities by al Qaeda.

[MEG33]

More Commission news here.

[angkor]

This is how Reno - Gorelick's boss - "recused" herself from any serious questioning:

GORTON: That's preliminary to a number of reservations or even complaints that we have heard directly or indirectly from people in the CIA, that your office counseled the White House against any memorandum of notification, which unambiguously allowed for the CIA simply to kill or to eliminate Osama bin Laden, and that that contributed to the fact that all of its plans inside of Afghanistan failed to come to fruition or were never ordered into execution.

Can you comment on that? Did the CIA, or did anyone in the White House ask your view as to whether that phrase could be unambiguous? And did you answer that question in the negative?

RENO: I was not asked whether they could assassinate him. I was asked whether they could capture or follow through with it.

GORTON: You were only asked if they could capture him or perhaps kill him in an attempt to escape or to resist that.

RENO: I need, Mr. Chairman, some direction. I don't know what the commission has done in terms of the declassification of these issues, and I want to be able to answer the question.

KEAN: Madam Attorney General, I think if there's any doubt in your mind, we should probably talk with you about it privately, rather than publicly, particularly on this subject, which is a very sensitive one.

RENO: I'm happy to do anything that will forward the issue.

GORTON: We'll submit that question to you in a closed session.

[Shethink13]

Earlier this week Judiciary Committee Chairman F. James Sensenbrenner Jr., Wisconsin Republican, called for her to step down, arguing that link between the FBI and the intelligence community is central to the panel's inquiries and her involvement compromises that investigation.

I questioned her participation on this commission from the outset. She was deputy attorney general under Janet Reno. Would the dems have allowed someone from Ashcroft's office on the commission?

If I can see the obvious conflict of interest, why couldn't these guys?

[randita]

There's a strategy about leaving Gorelick on the committee and maybe the GOP is setting the stage for that.

Imply that the work of the committee is partisan and tainted with Gorelick left in place. Then when the report comes out, which no doubt, will be a partisan hatchet job on the GOP, as most of these stupid committee reports are, say the report isn't worth anything.

[bvw]

What organization is better represented than Republicans or Democrats on the 9/11 Commission?

The CFR.

And the CFR's and CFR-like interests is paramount in all the panelists minds -- because it is their careers and pocketbooks. Those elitist connections are their personal assets!

We have an alternative -- alternatives -- we could apply:

A panel made up of fine, upstanding cictizens -- say county level judges of over five years service picked at random from counties over 10,000 pop. That would serve AMERICAN interests.

[maica]

    In 1995 she wrote a memo that was seen as enhancing what both law enforcement and intelligence officials called "the wall," which hindered sharing intelligence information between the two communities.
    Mrs. Gorelick was deeply involved in the relationship between intelligence and law enforcement, according to testimony she gave before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence in 1995. Then, she told that committee she had been specifically tasked by Attorney General Janet Reno to work on the relationship between the FBI and intelligence communities.
    "When I came over to be her deputy, she asked me to take this on as a special project," Mrs. Gorelick testified at the time.
    Though she was on the dais during this week's hearings of intelligence and law enforcement officials, she recused herself from questioning Miss Reno, her former boss, or former FBI Director Louis Freeh. She cited the commission's policy against interviewing people with whom "a commissioner or staff member has a close personal relationship."


@@@@


Recusing herself from asking questions in public testimony is such a red herring.

Ms Gorelick has been one of a very select few to see ALL the documents sent by the White House. I am sure that she has been the decision maker on Which documents the rest of the panel have been made aware.

more that one million documents
80 staff members
MS Gorelick, terrific person
R Ben Veniste, attack dog mafia-type mouthpiece
8 weak sister panel members, willing to let Ms Gorelick do the work

Recipe for Disaster

[Fester Chugabrew]

. . . one of the 10 commissioners, was instrumental in setting policy on the relationship between the FBI and intelligence communities when she was deputy attorney general.

Partisanship be damned. This is most certainly a substantive cause for blindness to the threats against us.

[TexasCajun]

The GOP leadership know who the hell Jamie Gorelick is!

Why didn't they complain about having an ex-Clintonite, 2nd in command at the Justice Dept, even on this panel!

[Dante3]

The panel has no credibility. The culprit is on the panel and the other memebers are not much concerned. Where did this loser Gorelick come from? How did a dimwit or mole or whatever end up in that position?

[FairOpinion]

It's high time the Republicans start to speak up.

They should NEVER, NEVER have authorized the creation of this commission in the first place.

It is actually DAMAGING the US in a time of war.

[cyncooper]

"I think she clearly has some history and a particular viewpoint on this, and one I think raises some concern about her perspective," Mr. Cantor said.

I found a thread from May 2002 yesterday that has Lee Hamilton commenting with a "particular viewpoint", and he ended up co-chairing this thing.

Excerpt:

"I think this is a serious matter," said Lee H. Hamilton, a former Democratic foreign policy stalwart in the House of Representatives, who is now director of the nonpartisan Woodrow Wilson Center.

"You are sitting there as president getting information from the C.I.A. that there are members of Al Qaeda discussing hijacking of American airliners," Mr. Hamilton said, "and you've got information in the F.B.I. about the need to look for Middle Eastern men training at U.S. flight schools. That is a serious matter and I don't care what other information is coming across your desk, that calls for action."

~snip~