White House Rules Out Public Questioning of President
President Bush has agreed to meet privately with the independent commission investigating the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks but has ruled out offering any testimony in a public setting, according to a White House statement released last night.
In addition, the commission's executive director said that Vice President Cheney, former president Bill Clinton and former vice president Al Gore have all tentatively agreed to provide similar private testimony to the panel. None has committed to testify publicly.
Commission officials and historians said Bush's decision to submit to questioning by an independent bipartisan panel appears to be unprecedented. During the investigation into the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, for example, President Lyndon B. Johnson submitted a three-page statement to the Warren Commission but was not subjected to questioning.
"Outside of a legal investigation, I cannot recall any sitting president meeting with an investigative body of this kind," said Philip Zelikow, the 9/11 commission's executive director. "It is highly unusual."
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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A40942-2004Feb13.html