Rice's Refusal To Testify Publicly Called 'Political Blunder'
Rice Says She'd Like To Testify Publicly But Opts To Protect Executive Privilege
POSTED: 8:12 am PST March 29,
2004
UPDATED: 2:34 pm PST March 29,
2004
One member of the federal 9/11 commission calls it a "political blunder."John Lehman is talking about the decision by the White House not to have national security adviser Condoleezza Rice testify publicly.
Lehman said Rice's testimony is needed "to help put the whole picture together." Another panel member, Jamie Gorelick, agrees that it would be best for Rice to testify. She called Rice a "critical witness."The White House has argued that a public appearance by Rice is different from an appearance by a Cabinet member such as Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, who testified Tuesday, because Rice is an adviser to the president.Rice has said she has a responsibility to protect the president's constitutional guarantee of executive privilege, arguing that the president could not rely on his advisers to speak to him openly if they could be questioned about their advice to him.Rice was on the defensive again Sunday, saying she won't testify publicly about 9/11. Rice told CBS' "60 Minutes" that she'd love to speak publicly before the commission, but that she can't as a matter of presidential policy.She insists there's no record of any national security adviser testifying before such a panel.
She also continued her defense of White House anti-terrorism activities in the face of criticisms from former counterterrorism adviser Richard Clarke. Rice said the Bush administration could not have done more to fight terrorism. Clarke has said that one day after 9/11, the president used an intimidating tone to ask him to look yet again for a link between al-Qaida and Iraq.Clarke accused Rice of not paying attention to his "urgent" warnings he made of an al-Qaida threat in a letter to Rice as the new administration was taking office in early 2001. But Rice said Bush doesn't talk to his staff in an intimidating way.
|
|
| Video |
Rice Refusal Called 'Political Blunder' Previous Stories:
- March 26, 2004: Rice Seeks 2nd Private Session With 9/11 Commission
- March 25, 2004: 9/11 Panel Holds Up On Bush Team Conclusions
- March 24, 2004: 9/11 Commissioner Cites 'Credibility Problem' For Clarke
- March 23, 2004: Rumsfeld: Al-Qaida 'War' Wouldn't Have Stopped 9/11
- March 22, 2004: White House Slams Clarke After 9/11 Allegations
Distributed by Internet Broadcasting Systems, Inc. The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
