So it appears that Condi Rice may be apprehensive about appearing before the 9/11 investigation Commission.
Two government sources tell TIME that National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice is arguing over ground rules for her appearance in part because she does not want to testify under oath or, according to one source, in public. While national security advisers are presidential staff and generally dont have to appear before Congress, the commission argues that its jurisdiction is broaderand it’s been requiring fact witnesses in its massive investigation to testify under oath. The exception: it may not seek to swear in President Bush, Vice President Cheney, Bill Clinton or Al Gore in the increasingly likely event they will be asked to speak to the commission. “I think that it is in their interest to meet with us,” says GOP commission member John Lehman, saying that they should be invited, not subpoenaed, and be allowed to appear behind closed doors.
What is Condi so worried about? This is a curious turn of events.