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T3 B5 NSC-EOP FDR - 10-17-03 Index of Documents Provided To Commission by White House 039
T3 B5 NSC-EOP FDR - 10-17-03 Index of Documents Provided To Commission by White House 039
WASHINGTON
October 7, 2003
As you know, the President has clearly stated a policy of support for the work of the
National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States ("Commission"). Consistent
with that policy, and as a matter of comity between the legislative and executive branches, we
are making available to the Commission additional documents and information that may be
responsive to the Commission's request entitled "EOF Document Request No. 3," dated July 23,
2003 (the "Request").
Specifically, on September 29, 2003, we made available to the Commission in the New
Executive Office Building ("NEOB") reading room the substantial remainder of responsive
documents from the Bush Administration (pages numbered 2554-2984). As previously
discussed, we produced the vast majority of these documents without any additional special
access arrangements (beyond those memorialized in your letter to me dated July 29, 2003), and
without requiring any explicit particularized showing of need. For a relatively small group of the
most highly sensitive and/or richly deliberative Constitutionally-protected documents, we
initially permitted access to the Chair and Vice Chair, consistent with the ordinary practice for
such review. Mr. Philip Zelikow, acting on behalf of the Chair and Vice Chair, reviewed those
documents and we immediately agreed to additional access to some of those materials based
upon his particularized showings of need. As an additional accommodation, we have agreed to
permit note taking on even the most highly sensitive/richly deliberative materials (with only
extremely limited exceptions), which we will maintain securely pending a particularized showing
of need to have specific portions of those notes available to facilitate the drafting of the
Commission's report or so that specific portions of the notes may be used for another legitimate
purpose, such as conducting interviews of EOF employees at the NEOB.
We have reviewed the Clinton Administration documents we have received thus far from
the National Archives and Records Administration ("NARA"), which are only partial and do not
include electronic mail. We will make every attempt to make those materials already received
from NARA available within the next two weeks and will continue to work with NARA to
obtain those additional items from the Clinton Administration as soon as possible.
These documents are being produced as part of the "rolling production," pursuant to our
agreement and the terms of the Request, which began on August 13, 2003. As we have
consistently advised you, given the breadth of this and previous requests, we continue to
supplement our production and to search for responsive materials under this "rolling production"
agreement. We will advise you if we locate any additional responsive documents. As Vice
Chairman Hamilton acknowledged to Judge Gonzales on October 1, the EOF 3 production issues
are now largely resolved.
Please be advised that we have identified some additional documents that may be
responsive to EOF Document Request No. 2, dated June 4, 2003. Those documents have been
placed in the NEOB reading room and are reflected on the enclosed index (pages numbered
1791-2111, 2294-2553, and 2985-2987). Those documents are also provided pursuant to our
"rolling production" agreement regarding EOF Document Request No. 2.
I am also sending you an updated index of documents made available to the Commission
at the NEOB reading room in response to EOF document requests. This version supersedes the
index I sent to you on August 13, 2003, at your request. I understand that Mr. Zelikow has
requested, on behalf of the Commission, to re-arrange all documents from EOF 2 and EOF 3 in
chronological order. I further understand that, if the Commission again re-arranges the
documents (as it did with EOF 2 documents over our initial objection), no Commissioners or
staff will ask EOF staff to identify recently-produced documents (which will no longer be in
Bates sequence, but may be identifiable by their higher Bates numbers and the dates identified on
the enclosed index) or to otherwise account for the new arrangement of documents.
The referenced documents and information, and all documents and information
subsequently furnished, are furnished (by whatever means) with due regard for the constitutional
separation of powers and reserving all legal authorities, privileges and objections that may apply,
including with respect to other governmental entities or private parties. Documents and other
information are furnished to the Commission in confidence. Please ensure that the Commission
protects them from unauthorized disclosure and from use for any purpose other than the
legislative purpose for which the Commission made the request.
Sincerely,
lonheim
Associate Counsel to the President
Enclosure
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED - FOR INTERNAL 9-11 COMMISSION USE ONLY
DRAFT: 10/7/2003