Sd B5 White House 2 Of 2 Fdr- Letters From Leitch And Bellinger Re Document Request 1 473

THE WHITE HOUSE WASHINGTON

June 11, 2003 Daniel Marcus, Esq. General Counsel National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States 2100KStreetN.W. Washington, D.C. 20037

RECEIVED

JUN 1 1 2003 National Commission on Terrorist Attacks

Dear Mr. Marcus: As you know, the President has clearly stated a policy of support for the work of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States ("Commission"). Consistent with that policy, and as a matter of comity between the legislative and executive branches, we previously provided a set of documents, as pages numbered 1 - 572, in response to the Commission's "EOF Document Request No. 1," dated May 13, 2003 (the "Request"). Subsequently, at your request, we provided an opportunity for you and Mr. Philip Zelikow to review the full, un-redacted text of the documents we provided in response to the Request, including all portions which had been marked as "non-responsive." Following your review, you requested that we provide certain additional portions of these documents to the Commission. While we do not concede that the enclosed materials are responsive to the Request or relevant to the Commission's inquiry, we are providing them as an accommodation. The enclosed documents comprise additional portions of: (i) one transcript of an interview conducted by Bob Woodward and Dan Balz of the Washington Post with President Bush; (ii) two transcripts of interviews conducted by Woodward with National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice; and (iii) one transcript of interviews conducted by Woodward and Balz with Deputy National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley. These pages are numbered as in the original set of documents provided in response to the Request, so that the pages can be substituted for those in the original response. Also enclosed is the transcript of a press conference held by Dr. Rice on May 16, 2002, which is publicly available, including on the White House web site. These materials are furnished pursuant to all terms and conditions stated in the May 21, 2003 letter to you from the Counsel to the President and in my May 23, 2003 letter to you. Sincerely yours,

David G. Leitch Deputy Counsel to the President

NATIONAL S E C U R I T Y COUNCIL WASHINGTON, D.C. 2O5O4

RECEIVED June 6, 2003 „ . ,, , „ Daniel Marcus, Esq.

.....

7

JUN . 7 2003 National Commission on Terrorist Attacks

General Counsel National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States 2100KStreetN.W. Washington, D.C. 20037 Dear Mr. Marcus: Consistent with the President's policy to support the work of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States ("the Commission"), and as a matter of comity between the legislative and executive branches, we are enclosing an additional set of documents, as pages numbered 360-572, that may be responsive to the Commission's requested entitled "EOF Document Request No. 1," dated May 13, 2003 (the "Request"). As we indicated in our previous responses, the enclosed documents reflect the results of preliminary inquiries made of relevant White House offices in response to the Request and we anticipate furnishing additional documents. Specifically, we anticipate that there will be additional documents provided to you shortly as a result of our discussions today. As you know, the full, non-redacted text of each of the enclosed documents was previously made available to the Commission, with our intended redactions of material not responsive to the Request marked, and both you and Executive Director Phillip Zelikow have taken the opportunity to review them. The enclosed documents comprise: (i) twelve transcripts of interviews conducted with Dr. Condoleezza Rice in 2001 and 2002 by Bob Woodward and other journalists; and (ii) two transcripts of interviews conducted by Bob Woodward and Dan Balz with Stephen Hadley in January 2002. These additional documents are provided subject to the terms of the May 21 , 2003 letter from the Counsel to the President, and the May 23, 2003 letter to you from Deputy Counsel to the President David Leitch, including that they are furnished with due regard for the constitutional separation of powers and reserving all legal authorities, privileges and objections that may apply, including with respect to other governmental entities or private parties. Documents and other information are furnished to the Commission in confidence and as in closed session. Please ensure that the Commission protects them from unauthorized disclosure and from use for any purpose other than the legislative purpose for which the Commission made the request. Sincerely yours, John B. Bellinger, III Senior Associate Counsel to the President and Legal Adviser, National Security Council

THE WHITE HOUSE WASHINGTON

May 23, 2003 J

RECEIVED

MAY 2 3 2003 Ma,

._ National Commission on

Terron'st Attacks

Daniel Marcus, Esq. General Counsel National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States 2100KStreetN.W. Washington, D.C. 20037

Dear Mr. Marcus: As you know, the President has clearly stated a policy of support for the work of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States ("Commission"). Consistent with that policy, and as a matter of comity between the legislative and executive branches, we are enclosing an additional set of documents as pages numbered 242-359 that may be responsive to the Commission's request entitled "EOF Document Request No. 1," dated May 13, 2003 (the "Request"). The enclosed documents reflect further results of preliminary inquiries made of relevant White House offices in response to the Request. These inquiries are ongoing, and we anticipate furnishing additional documents shortly. The enclosed documents comprise (i) two transcripts of an interview conducted by Bob Woodward and Dan Balz of the Washington Post with President Bush on December 20, 2001, and (ii) portions of the transcript of a second interview conducted by Woodward and Balz with President Bush on August 20, 2002 (the "August 20 Interview"). Pursuant to the terms of the Request, we are providing only the portions of these transcripts that "discusfs] the facts and circumstances surrounding the 9-11 attack and the immediate response of the United States." As the Counsel to the President advised the Chairman and Vice-Chairman of the Commission on May 21, 2003, we have interpreted the phrase "the immediate response of the United States" as stated in the Request, to include events occurring on or prior to September 20, 2001. Because a substantial majority of the August 20 Interview concerns events occurring after that date, we have provided only the portions of that interview which may be responsive, and have indicated the number of pages that are omitted. All portions of the documents provided in response to the Request which are marked as "non-responsive material" will be made available to the Commission as discussed between the Counsel to the President and the Chairman and ViceChairman of the Commission. The enclosed documents and information, and all documents and information subsequently furnished, are furnished (whether by delivery or by making them available) with due regard for the constitutional separation of powers and reserving all legal authorities, privileges and objections that may apply, including with respect to other governmental entities or private parties. Documents and other information are furnished to the Commission in confidence and as in closed session. Please ensure that the Commission protects them from unauthorized

disclosure and from use for any purpose other than the legislative purpose for which the Commission made the request. Sincerely yours,

David G. Leitch Deputy Counsel to the President