Chapter 48. The Roosevelt Room
This material is drawn largely from interviews with Card and with several of the commissioners, notably Kean, Hamilton, Gorelick, Gorton, Kerrey, Ben-Veniste, Lehman, and Roemer. The transcript of White House spokesman Scott McClellan’s criticism of Ashcroft is available at the White House website: http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2004/04/20040429-4.html. The New York Post headline about the meeting, “DEM DUO DISSES DUBYA,” appeared on April 30, 2004.
Chapter 49. The New School
The comments by former New York City director of emergency operations Richard Sheirer were made at a commission hearing on May 18, 2004. The transcript is available at the commission’s website: www.9-11commission.gov. John Farmer explained his preparations for the New York City hearings in an interview. The events of the hearing were also described to me by Lehman, Kean, and Hamilton. The joint comments by Kean and Hamilton about the Giuliani hearing as a “low point” were made in Without Precedent and in subsequent interviews.
Chapter 50. Offices of the Director of Central Intelligence
Much of the material about the 1998 Memorandum of Notification was provided to me in interviews with Zelikow and other commission staff members, as well as with former CIA officials. Roemer expressed his concern about Tenet’s August 2001 briefings in interviews with me. Tenet’s point of view was explained to me during interviews with several former CIA officials, including his former chief of staff, John Moseman, and Rudy Rousseau, who led the DCI Review Group.
Chapter 51. J. Edgar Hoover FBI Building
Much of this material is drawn from current and former associates of FBI Director Robert Mueller, as well as from interviews with Kean, Hamilton, Gorton, and Dan Marcus, the commission’s general counsel. The description of Dame Eliza Manningham-Buller’s private meeting with the commission was provided to me by several commissioners and commission staff members who were there. The detail about her performance as the fairy godmother in an Oxford student performance of Cinderella was drawn from a profile of her in The Guardian by reporter Richard Norton-Taylor (“Head of MI5 is Second Woman to Hold Post”); it was published on May 18, 2002.
Chapter 52. K Street Offices of the 9/11 Commission
The material about Lloyd Salvetti was provided to me in interviews with Salvetti. The description of the agency’s museum is found at the CIA website: www.cia.gov. The material about Lorry Fenner and the NSA archives was provided to me in interviews with Salvetti, Doug MacEachin, and other staff members of the commission.
Chapter 53. K Street Offices of the 9/11 Commission
In interviews, Zelikow acknowledged his conversation over the secure telephone with the CIA (although he disputed the memory of others about what was discussed). The confrontation between Zelikow and Ben-Veniste was described to me in interviews with both men. Current and former CIA officials provided me with information about the views of Barbara S. and Dwayne B., the CIA analysts who helped write the August 6, 2001, PDB.
Chapter 54. K Street Offices of the 9/11 Commission
Much of this material is drawn from interviews with the commissioners and the panel’s staff. President Bush’s May 2003 speech aboard the aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln is available at the White House website: http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/ 2003/05/20030501-15.html. The initial Associated Press article on April 16 was written by reporter Hope Yen (“Sept. 11 panel: Bin Laden sought Saddam’s help but Iraq rebuffed him”). The later version was written by Terence Hunt (“Sept. 11 Commission Undercuts Bush Argument for War in Iraq”). Large portions of the CNBC interview with Vice President Cheney can be found at the MSNBC website: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5233810/. Bush’s comments on the relationship between al-Qaeda and Iraq can be found at the White House website: http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2004/06/20040617-3.html. Hamilton’s comments about the need to see Vice President Cheney’s evidence were made in an interview with me that was published on June 19, 2004 (“Leaders of 9/11 Panel Ask Cheney for Reports That Would Support Iraq-Qaeda Ties”); the co-author of the article was Richard W. Stevenson.
Chapter 55. Harvard University
Much of this material is drawn from Ernest May’s extraordinary account, published in The New Republic on May 23, 2005, of his involvement in the commission’s investigation; the article is titled “When Government Writes History.” May also responded to e-mailed questions. A copy of the outline prepared by Zelikow and May was provided to me by a commission staff member. Kean and Hamilton described their reaction to the outline in Without Precedent. The article by Richard Falkenrath was published in International Security magazine in its Winter 2004/2005 article, under the title “The 9/11 Commission Report: A Review Essay.” The subsequent letter from May and Zelikow and the response from Falkenrath were published in the magazine’s Spring 2005 issue.
Chapter 56. K Street Offices of the 9/11 Commission
This material is drawn from interviews with Zelikow and several members of the commission’s staff, including Dan Marcus, the general counsel. The material on the history of W.W. Norton is drawn from the publisher’s website: www.wwnorton.com. I wrote about Zelikow’s ties to Norton and the publisher’s selection by the 9/11 commission in an article in the Times on May 25, 2004, titled, “9/11 Panel Chooses Publisher for Report.”
Chapter 57. K Street Offices of the 9/11 Commission
Much of this material is drawn from interviews with the commissioners, including Kean, Hamilton, and Gorton. The call between Card and Kean regarding George Tenet was described to me by both Card and Kean.
Chapter 58. Office of the Chief of Staff
Much of this material is drawn from interviews with Card, Kean, Hamilton, and Marcus. The description of the guilty plea and sentencing of former national security adviser Samuel Berger is drawn from several articles in The New York Times and The Washington Post. The description of Kean’s and Hamilton’s actions on the day of the release of the report is drawn in part from Without Precedent. Arthur Schlesinger’s praise for the report was reported by the San Francisco Chronicle in an article published on November 12, 2004, titled, “The 9/11 Commission Report is a Compelling Read. But Does it Deserve a Literary Award?” The reporter was Heidi Benson. John Updike’s praise was published by The New Yorker in a book review in its November 1, 2004, edition. Commissioner James Thompson’s comment about the reception for the commission’s final report is drawn from a profile of Thompson in Chicago Lawyer magazine in its February 2005 issue; the article by reporter Jim Day is titled, “9/11 Report Marked a High Point in Thompson’s Career.” As of late 2007, portions of the 9/11 commission’s final report remain posted at the website of the Saudi embassy in Washington: www.saudiembassy.net. Zelikow’s comments about his concerns over the NSA archives were made to me in an e-mail exchange. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice’s announcement of Zelikow’s appointment as her counselor can be found at the State Department’s website: http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2005/42745.htm.
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About the Author
Philip Shenon is an investigative reporter with The New York Times, based in Washington, D.C. He was the lead reporter on the investigation of the September 11 commission and has held several of the most important assignments of the Washington bureau, including chief Defense Department correspondent, diplomatic correspondent, congressional correspondent, and Justice Department correspondent. He has reported for the Times from scores of countries across six continents.
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