Those 9/11 Commission Minders Again

New details have emerged about minders who sat in on 9/11 Commission interviews during a fact-finding trip to Canada. Commission heads Tom Kean and Lee Hamilton mentioned the minders generally in interviews during the panel’s lifetime, but a memo recently found in the National Archives and blogged here a couple of weeks ago showed how prevalent they were.

9/11 Commission Documents Related to EPA Investigation (last updated 26 June 2009)

This post lists documents related to the 9/11 Commission’s investigation of false statements made by the Environmental Protection Agency about the air quality in New York after the attacks. The documents have been posted at the History Commons site at Scribd. I am reading through them gradually and highlighting interesting information. This post will be updated if and when I find new information about this topic.

Zelikow Weighs In; Says Reply to Question about Sitting on Memo was Actually about Something Else

Following my post a couple of days ago about 9/11 Commission Executive Director Philip Zelikow and a false statement he made to author Philip Shenon about his lack of knowledge about a dispute on the commission, a person representing himself to be Zelikow has posted a comment on the blog. The comment says that I misinterpreted his statement to Shenon and that it was about events different to the ones I thought it was. Unsurprisingly, I don’t buy it. I gave Zelikow’s words their natural meaning in the context, interpreting them as a direct reply to the question Shenon had just asked. Zelikow, however, gets full marks for novelty of approach.

Zelikow Caught in a Whopper; Made False Statements to Author about Criminal Referral for NORAD, FAA

Documents recently found in the National Archives cast doubt on the integrity of the 9/11 Commission’s Executive Director Philip Zelikow. In an e-mail exchange with author Philip Shenon, Zelikow claimed that he first learned of a dispute on the commission over the investigation of false statements made by NORAD and FAA officials after it had been “percolating for a while” and was not involved in the initial stages of the argument. However, an e-mail chain (scroll down) found in the Archives by History Commons contributor paxvector shows that Zelikow had been involved in the issue from very near the beginning.

Zelikow Failed to Mention Possible Criminal Referral of False Statements by NORAD and FAA in Memo to 9/11 Commission Heads

A document recently discovered in the National Archives shows that, in a memo to the 9/11 Commission’s chairman and vice-chairman on false statements made by NORAD and FAA officials about the failure of US air defenses, the commission’s Executive Director Philip Zelikow failed to mention the possibility of a criminal referral. This supports allegations that Zelikow “buried” the option of a criminal referral by the commission to the Justice Department for a perjury investigation. The document was found at the National Archives by History Commons contributor paxvector and posted to the History Commons site at Scribd.

DNA of One 9/11 Hijacker Positively Identified

A new document obtained from the 9/11 Commission’s files shows that the DNA of one of the alleged 9/11 hijackers, presumed Flight 93 pilot Ziad Jarrah, was positively identified. A sample taken from the plane’s crash site in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, was matched with a sample taken by German authorities from the residence of his girlfriend. The document was found at the National Archives by History Commons contributor paxvector, and posted at the History Commons site at Scribd.

Books We Read: Takeover, by Charlie Savage

Takeover: The Return of the Imperial Presidency and the Subversion of Democracy
by Charlie Savage
©2007 Little, Brown

Charlie Savage is, to my mind, a consummate reporter. When he wrote this book, he was with the Boston Globe, and now he hangs his hat at the New York Times. He does not, to my knowledge, spend a lot of time on the various cable talk fests like so many other reporters who aren’t fit to carry his pencil case. He simply…reports.