Friday, November 21, 2003
From ABC News: NEW YORK Nov. 21 - The mayor's office vowed to fight a federal commission's subpoena seeking documents that detail the city's response at the World Trade Center. . . .
The commission, which is investigating the nation's preparedness before the 2001 attacks and its response to them, said Thursday it wants tapes and transcripts of 911 calls as well as internal firefighter interviews conducted afterward.
The 10-member bipartisan panel, formed by Congress and led by former New Jersey Gov. Tom Kean, said the 911 calls in particular are "critical to understanding the interaction between members of the public and the city" the day of the attacks.
The panel, which has a May deadline to report its findings an make recommendations for guarding against similar disasters, said it requested the material more than four months ago and is running out of time.
"The city's failure to produce these important documents has significantly impeded the commission's investigation," the panel said a statement.
Ed Skyler, a spokesman for Mayor Michael Bloomberg said the city will fight the subpoena. "It will take a court order. . .", he said. . . .
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the owner of the trade center, in August released about 2,000 pages of transcripts of radio transmissions and calls to its police force on the morning of the attack. The authority had tried to back out of its agreement with The New York Times to release the transcripts, but a New Jersey judge rejected the attempt. News organizations have also tried to get the city records released. . . . From UPI:The commission also made public Thursday more details about the terms of its agreement with the White House over access to parts of the super-secret and super-sensitive presidential daily briefings.
As reported by UPI and other media last week, the terms -- which came under fire as too restrictive from some commissioners and relatives of those killed in the attacks -- limit access to the PDB items to a four-person subcommittee.
The members of the subcommittee, announced Thursday, are commission Chairman Thomas H. Kean, the former GOP governor of New Jersey; Deputy Chairman Lee H. Hamilton, a former Democratic congressman; Zelikow, a former aide to national security adviser Condoleezza Rice; and Commissioner Jamie Gorelick, a former Clinton administration official.
The subcommittee will be allowed to take notes. . . .
Also news is that the four will prepare a summary of the information in the PDB items that is relevant to the commission's inquiry for the full 10-member commission and certain members of its staff.
However, the summaries will be "subject to limited White House review." See also: 9/11 families: Commission compromised
New development in 9/11 coverup
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