National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States

Minutes, March 20,2003 meeting

The Commission, with Gov. Kean presiding, met at 9:05 AM on March 20, 2003. All
Members of the Commission were present.

The Commission took up for discussion the following topics: access to the Joint Inquiry
report and documents; direction by the White House to Executive branch agencies on
cooperation with Commission information requests; clearances for Commissioners and
staff; the agenda for the New York City hearings; Commissioner access to staff; the
budget; and the nature of the family liaison staff position. At 11:15 AM the
Commission heard from Eleanor Hill, Director, and Rick Cinquegrana, Deputy Director,
of the Congressional Joint Inquiry staff.

Commissioners took the following actions:

Scheduled meeting dates between March and September;

Approved the agenda for the New York hearing with some revisions, including additional
time for Commissioner statements at the outset (especially by the Chair and Vice-Chair),
additional time for the family member panel, and a broader list of invitations to Members
of Congress;
Agreed that Commissioners, in pairs, would take leadership roles in questioning members
of the expert witness panels on the second day of the hearing;
Agreed that a professional should be appointed to the family liaison position, with input
from family groups with respect to proposed candidates;
Agreed that a balance must be maintained between policy and investigation in the work of
the Commission, and that Commissioners should come back to the Chair and Vice-Chair
if they believe there is an imbalance between policy and investigative work;
Agreed that Commissioners should have direct access to all staff, understanding that staff
need to contact the front office so that all pertinent information can be brought to the
attention of Commissioners in response to their inquiries; and
Agree that the General Counsel would brief on the question of compensation rules and
procedures at the next Commission meeting in New York.

Commissioner Ben-Veniste noted, for the record, his view that the recordation of minutes
in Commission meetings is too sparse and telegraphic, and he requested that the
Commission revisit the question of the nature of minute taking at the next Commission
meeting.

Commissioner Roemer noted for the record his commendation of Executive Director
Zelikow for his suggestions about testimony by witnesses and victims at the NYC
hearing.

Commissioner Ben-Veniste noted for the record that a number of Commissioners have a
strong desire to participate directly in the Commission's work, and want to be assigned to
Task Forces. Commissioner Ben-Veniste seeks inclusion on the Commission agenda of a
discussion of assignments to Task Forces.

The Commission adjourned at 1:45 PM and will hold its next meeting in New York City
on March 31,2003.
AOL.COM I Message View http://webmaiI.aol.com/fmsgview.adp7foldersSU5CT 1 g=&uid=61822f

Chris - I don't think I said "telegraphic".. I did say that there should be a more
extensive historical record of our internal proceedings at Commission meetings.
Regarding task force participation, I stated that at our initial Commission meetings
we had tentatively agreed that, at their request, individual Commissioners would be
assigned to specific task forces, and that we ought to begin implementing that
understanding. Thanks, Richard.

Oriinal Massacre
From:£ 9/11 Personal Privacy
J
Sent: Wednesday, March 26, 2003 2 : 2 4 PM
To: • Ben-Veniste, Richard; troemed9/H Personal Privacy!
Cc: pda_ 9/11 Personal Privacy
Subject: draft minutes

Richard, Tim -- as you are cited by name, I wanted you to have the opportunity to
review the draft minutes prior to further distribution. Thanks, C.

NOTICE: This e-mail message and all. attachments transmitted with it are intended
solely for the use of the addressee and may contain legally privileged and
confidential information. If the reader of this message is not the intended
recipient, or an employee or agent responsible for delivering this message to the
intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution,
copying, or other use of this message or its attachments is strictly prohibited, If
you have received this message in error, please notify the sender immediately by
replying to this message and please delete it from your computer.

lof 1 3/26/03 5:50 PM