9/11 Panel Suspected Deception by Pentagon

Washington Post ^ | August 2, 2006 | Dan Eggen

[woofie]

Allegations Brought to Inspectors General

Some staff members and commissioners of the Sept. 11 panel concluded that the Pentagon's initial story of how it reacted to the 2001 terrorist attacks may have been part of a deliberate effort to mislead the commission and the public rather than a reflection of the fog of events on that day, according to sources involved in the debate.

Suspicion of wrongdoing ran so deep that the 10-member commission, in a secret meeting at the end of its tenure in summer 2004, debated referring the matter to the Justice Department for criminal investigation, according to several commission sources. Staff members and some commissioners thought that e-mails and other evidence provided enough probable cause to believe that military and aviation officials violated the law by making false statements to Congress and to the commission, hoping to hide the bungled response to the hijackings, these sources said.

In the end, the panel agreed to a compromise, turning over the allegations to the inspectors general for the Defense and Transportation departments, who can make criminal referrals if they believe they are warranted, officials said.

"We to this day don't know why NORAD [the North American Aerospace Command] told us what they told us," said Thomas H. Kean, the former New Jersey Republican governor who led the commission. "It was just so far from the truth. . . . It's one of those loose ends that never got tied."

Although the commission's landmark report made it clear that the Defense Department's early versions of events on the day of the attacks were inaccurate, the revelation that it considered criminal referrals reveals how skeptically those reports were viewed by the panel and provides a glimpse of the tension between it and the Bush administration.

[Lancey Howard]

Lehman defended that sick scumbag Gorelick?? I wasn't aware of that.
If that's correct (and I have no reason to doubt you) then screw Lehman, too.
Any respect I may have had for him is gone.

[Pro-Bush]

What are they hiding?

[vbmoneyspender]

I was very surprised by his defense of her.

See Link

Gorelick recused herself from cross-examining some of the law enforcement and intelligence officials who testified before the commission on Tuesday, but to some, that's simply not enough.

"I think she has to recuse herself from everything," said Fox News senior judicial analyst Andrew Napolitano.

But not everyone shares that view.

Republican commissioner John Lehman (search), former Navy secretary under President Reagan, told Fox News on Thursday that he does not agree that Gorelick should resign.

"Jamie Gorelick has made a very good contribution and she's one of the really savvy, nonpartisan of the bipartisan members," Lehman said.

[nopardons]

Spot on!

[nopardons]

BTTT

[river rat]

FLASH!!!!
Citizens distrustful of 9/11 commission, based on the makeup of the panel.......ESPECIALLY Ms. Jamie GORELICK, who should have been ANSWERING questions instead of asking them..

Any panel contain the DNC's shyster lawyer Richard Ben-Veniste -- is reduced to a political exercise not an investigation for facts.

Semper Fi

[Peach]

This commission doesn't have the moral authority to call anything or anyone a lie after it said that "Saddam didn't have an operational relationship with Al Qaeda".

If a housewife sitting at her computer can prove the lie to that statement, they're worthless.

[gaspar]

Every time I think about the Commission the French word "guignol" (Punch and Judy show) comes to mind. Certainly Kean, Gorton and Lehman played their dumbshow part perfectly, just as Gorelick played hers.

[.cnI redruM]

Well John, when you had Jamie Gorelick on the commission, you had problems that were of a much higher order of magnitude. To that, I will agree.

[Prodn2000]

Bush was the first to employ a transition team.

[M Kehoe]

Three words (one of which needs correction) for Mr. Eggen:

Commissioner Jamie Gorelick.

Should have been these three words:

Witness Jamie Gorelick.

5.56mm

[hocndoc]

"In an article scheduled to be on newsstands today, Vanity Fair magazine reports aspects of the commission debate -- "

Vanity Fair???? The Washington Post is referencing Vanity Fair on defense and military competency?

If the official reports as to what the Air Defense was doing or not doing were false - this is *more* than " loose ends."

[ALOHA RONNIE]

.

Don't miss:


The History Channel's 5th Anniversary 9/11 TV Special


..'COUNTDOWN to GROUND ZERO'..


Premiering Sunday, August 13th, 2006

8:00 pm Eastern/Pacific Time


Includeding:

The heroic 9/11 Lifesaver RICK RESCORLA Story

http://www.RickRescorla.com

http://www.ArmchairGeneral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=24361

.

[woofie]

Bump

[ALOHA RONNIE]

.

Thank you for your 9/11 Bump...

AR

.

[Mo1]

Would this be the same staff members that block many of the evidence from being seen by the panel??

[PISANO]

Hey folks......whatever the WASHINGTON COMPOST has to say when they REPORT something from the 911 Commission and "SOURCES involved in the DEBATE".....you can rest assured it will be........BUSH's FAULT!!

[tubebender]

Too bad Alan Simpson, former Senator from Wyoming, didn't get Kean's slot. That would have been a hoot...