9/11 Commission Guidelines For Witness Interviews

GUIDELINES FOR DEPARTMENT AND AGENCY INTERVIEWS It is in our mutual interest to have certain agreed upon general principles and procedures for interviews in order to avoid disagreements at interviews to the extent possible. Both sides will apply a "rule of reason" and be flexible in interpreting these guidelines. The various notification provisions in these guidelines will allow the Executive Branch to identify and discuss with the Commission any concerns any planned areas of inquiry may pose with regard to the constitutional interests of the Presidency or particularly sensitive classified information. Both sides will attempt in good faith to resolve any such concerns. PRINCIPLES In general, interviewers will: • • • •

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Focus only on what they need to know, that is, information of particularized importance to the Commission's statutory mandate Seek information not otherwise available, first looking at prior testimony and documents to determine whether the information is available elsewhere Look to the substance of discussions and the arguments presented in discussions rather than verbatim exchanges Inquire into agency positions only when it is important to understand the significance not only of a position taken but of which Department took it (e.g., DOD's position on the use of military force) Not inquire about particular statements, or particular disagreements, for their own sake or because they might be interesting

More specifically: Witnesses may discuss positions taken by their agency or other agencies at White House or National Security Council meetings (including, but not limited to CSG, Deputies, or Principals Committee meetings), but interviewers will not elicit verbatim quotes from witnesses about what participants said in such meetings, unless the quotation is especially important to understand what took place in the meeting. To the extent the perceived need to elicit verbatim quotes may be anticipated by the interviewer, this need should be discussed in advance of the interview. With regard to post-9/20/01 matters, interviewers will not inquire into details of specific operations, though interviewers may question officials about post-9/11 policies and programs developed to deal with terrorist threats in response to the events of 9/11, including the implementation and evaluation of those policies and programs. Except where there is a special need, interviewers will not inquire into deliberations with regard to either the formulation or implementation of policies after 9/20/01.

PROCEDURES Pre-meetings for certain high-level interviews With regard to interviews of witnesses at or above the Assistant Secretary level, interviewers will meet with Executive Branch representatives reasonably in advance of any interview in which they anticipate asking questions about specific positions taken by the witness or other Departments or Agencies at White House or NSC meetings (including, but not limited to CSG, Deputies, or Principals Committee meetings) and identify to the extent possible: the specific meetings they wish to ask about, the specific Departments' and Agencies' positions about which they wish to ask, and, as noted above, to the extent the need for verbatim quotes can be anticipated, any verbatim quotes they may seek to elicit. Where feasible, a pre-meeting may be scheduled to discuss a number of high-level interviews with a particular Department or Agency, as long as the meeting provides this information with respect to each separate interviewee. In other cases, agency representatives may speak with Commission staff to seek additional information concerning interviews. Other consultations If the Commission plans to ask any questions of any witness concerning individual conversations with, or statements by, the President, Vice President, National Security Advisor, White House Counsel, or Deputy National Security Advisor, the Commission will consult reasonably in advance with the EOF about the planned areas of inquiry for any such questioning. If the Commission plans to question any witness about time at another agency (including the White House or NSC), it will give reasonable advance notice of that fact to the agency representative. Disputes If disputes arise during interviews, both sides can try to contact Dan Marcus or Steve Dunne at the Commission or Dan Levin, Bryan Cunningham or Tom Monheim to try to resolve the issue. If any question is not answered and in subsequent discussions it is agreed it should be answered, the Commission will have additional interview time with the witness (possibly by phone) to answer the deferred question(s).