Sd B5 White House 2 Of 2 Fdr- Letters From Leitch Re Document Request 2 472

06/25/03

WED 18:20 FAX

1^002

M WASHINGTON

June 25, 2003 Daniel Marcus, Esq. General Counsel National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States 2100 K Street N.W. Washington, D.C. 20037 Dear Mr. Marcus:

Counsel and its Executive Director a set of documents, as pages numbered 582-785 that may be \E WHITE HOUSE Spons^o Calories 2-4 of the Commission's request entitled "EOF Document Request No. 2 " daTedI Ju^e 4 2003 ("Request No. 2"). We have redacted from the documents which may be LonsfverCategories 2^d 3 certain-information about continuity of operations which is

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are prepared to offer a briefing on the information requested m P^j^ ™{^^ advised you by letter dated June 17, 2003, information responsive to Category 1 is bemg gathered as expeditiously as possible and will be made available on a rolling basis. The documents we have made available today reflect the preliminary results of inquiries made to ^SS^S^i^o^ to Request No. 2. We have made substantial progress toward completing our search and review of potentially responsive matenal; *™™££,£^ still ongoing. We anticipate making additional documents available on a rolling' basis. These documents are made available subject to the terms expressed in our earlier letters to you, Deluding the understanding that they are made available with due ^. separation of powers and reserving all legal authorities, privileges and ° including with respect to other governmental entities or pnvate parties. made available to fce Commission in confidence and as in closed sess1On. that the Commission will take all necessary steps to protect mformation ^ved from tee documents from unauthorized disclosure and from use for any purpose other than the legislative purpose for which the Commission made the request. Sincerely, David G. Leitc Deputy Counsel to the President

A

r THE WHITE HOUSE WASHINGTON

June 17, 2003 Dear Mr. Marcus: We have received the Commission's "EOF Document Request No. 2" ("Request No. 2"), which has a return date of June 25, 2003. This letter responds to your invitation in that request to "inform the Commission promptly if the production date poses a problem for certain categories of documents." As acknowledged by your staff in discussions prior to the issuance of Request No. 2, and as is implicit in the wording of the request itself, the task of locating, retrieving, and reviewing the materials you request, particularly in Item No. 1, will take longer than the 15 business days allowed by your return date. As you know, there is a large volume of potentially responsive material from which the requested information will need to be identified. Much of the requested information comprises documents from the previous Administration, which are in the legal custody of the National Archives and Records Administration ("NARA") pursuant to the Presidential Records Act. 44 U.S.C. §§ 22012207. The number of individuals at NARA and in the Executive Office of the President ("EOF") with sufficient security clearance to see, and meaningfully review, these materials, is very small. In addition, regulations pursuant to the Presidential Records Act mandate specific periods of review for materials of a former Administration. 36 C.F.R. Part 1270. We initiated searches for the requested materials shortly after receiving Request No. 2, and fully intend to respond to your request on a "rolling" basis, as expeditiously as possible. We will also be happy to keep you apprised of our efforts to make responsive documents available as quickly as possible. As you know, the President has stated the commitment of the Executive Branch to support the work of the Commission. We look forward to continuing our close interaction with Commission staff as you continue with your important work. Sincerely yo David G. Leitch Deputy Counsel to the President Daniel Marcus, Esq. General Counsel National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States 2100KStreetN.W. Washington, D.C. 20037