NY Times: The Mystery Deepens

[aquart]

<http://www.nytimes.com/2004/04/03/opinion/03SAT1.html>

The Bush administration's handling of the bipartisan commission investigating the 9/11 tragedy grows worse — and more oddly self-destructive — with each passing day. Following its earlier attempts to withhold documents from the panel and then to deny its members vital testimony, we now learn that President Bush's staff has been withholding thousands of pages of Clinton administration papers as well.

-snip-

This latest distressing episode followed the White House's pattern of resisting the commission in private and then, once the dispute becomes public, reluctantly giving up the minimum amount of ground. Earlier in the week, Mr. Bush finally agreed to allow Condoleezza Rice, the national security adviser, to testify under oath — but only after extracting a commitment that the commission would not seek any further public testimony from any White House official. After months of foot-dragging, Mr. Bush also grudgingly agreed to let the panel question him and Vice President Dick Cheney privately. Last year the Pentagon, the Justice Department and other agencies stonewalled the commission's requests for documents until its chairman, Thomas Kean, the former Republican governor of New Jersey, complained publicly.

Explaining the latest act of obstruction, Scott McClellan, the president's spokesman, said on Thursday that some documents were duplicative, unrelated or "highly sensitive." The White House, he said, had given the commission "all the information they need." Mr. Bush's staff should not be making that judgment. The commission's 10 members can be trusted with sensitive material.

Moreover, given the repeated criticism of this administration's obsessive secrecy on other issues, it is astonishing that it would still withhold anything that did not pose an immediate and dire threat to national security. The American people would like to know that they have a government that freely gives information to legitimate investigations on matters of grave national interest, not one that fights each reasonable request until it is exposed and forced to submit. The White House is serving no public purpose by acting less interested than the rest of us in having this commission do its vital work. Its ham-handed behavior is also gravely damaging the entire concept of executive privilege.

[stellanoir]

1. incessant obstructionism

without extending the deadline for the 9/11 commission constitutes egregious and blatantly criminal behavior.

for how long will we allow the media and the judiciary to give these crooks a pass. arghhhhhhh.

[opihimoimoi]

2. Arrogance has no Limits

These Pubs are in it for themselves.... not America... das fer sure.

[IronLionZion]

3. kudos to the NY Times for running this

This regime will stop at nothing to advance their selfish agenda.

[aquart]

4. They really aren't mincing words anymore.

Maybe it's because people have noticed, like the editorial says, that BushCo is obstructive in private, but caves under publicity.

[argyl]

5. This is so reminiscent of Nixon and Watergate.

Really takes me back.I believe that's when the term "stonewalling" really got a lot of use and that's how these thugs are reacting.

[radfringe]

6. we just had another "flip-flop"

or as the media is calling it -- "a reversal" --- and the documents are being released...

at the rate of the current "reversal" bush* may be able to "reverse" us all back to pre-2001

full speed in reverse, advance to the rear!

Meanwhile, as my partner puts it ..."God, I miss bubba..."