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November 20, 2003

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The federal commission investigating the Sept. 11 attacks met yesterday in New Jersey where it held its fifth public hearing.

The meeting came one week after the commission reached a controversial agreement to see some classified pre-9/11 White House briefings.

Some members of the independent commission investigating have blasted the conditions that the White House has set in order for members of the commission to examine documents related to the attacks. Former Senator Max Cleland said, "If this decision stands, I, as a member of the commission, cannot look any American in the eye, especially family members of victims, and say the commission had full access. This investigation is now compromised."

The Washington Post reports the White House has agreed to allow four members of the 10-person committee have varying degrees of access to the classified presidential briefings. Restrictions will be placed on what briefings can be seen and on what portions of the briefings may be shared with the rest of the commission. The White House is also demanding it review any notes that commissioners take concerning the documents.

• Timothy Roemer, one of the commissioners on the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, the independent commission investigating the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.
• * Peter Lance*, a five-time Emmy-award winning investigative reporter and former ABC News correspondent. His latest book is 1000 Years For Revenge: International Terrorism and the FBI — The Untold Story (Reagan Books) which outlines how the FBI missed dozens of chances to stop the Sept. 11 attacks going as far back as 1989.
• Monica Gabrielle, wife of Richard Gabrielle who was killed in the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center. She was among the witnesses at a hearing of the independent commission investigating the Sept. 11 attacks yesterday. She is the Co-Chairperson of the Skyscraper Safety Campaign and a member of Member of Coalition of 9/11 Families and 9/11 Families for a Secure America.