Retired Rep. Tim Roemer (D-IN), a member of the 9/11 commission is calling for Rice's private testimony to be declassified in the wake of calls for Clarke's classified congressional testimony to be released. Roemer was the only official to sit in on both the house intelligence committee's questioning of Clarke and the 9/11 committee's questioning of Rice -- in private -- and Clarke's own sworn testimony. Roemer was generally supportive of Clarke's accounts, both before the joint inquiry AND his 9/11 committee sworn testimony. He rebutted Felding on a few occasions and noted he was the only member of both inquiries.
Tim Roemer Calls for Declassifying Rice's Private 9/11 Testimony
A Democrat on the independent commission, Timothy J. Roemer, a former House member from Indiana who also served on the joint Congressional panel, said he supported the effort to make Mr. Clarke's testimony public. Mr. Roemer added, though, that there should also be given consideration to "carefully, within the bounds of security" declassifying the private interviews that Ms. Rice gave last month to the independent Sept. 11 commission.
Here is Roemer's rebuttal of Felding and some of his interaction with Richard Clarke in the recent public 9/11 hearing:
9/11 Committee Public Testimony of Richard Clarke: Transcript.
FIELDING: But what's bothering me now is that not only did you interview with us, but you also spent more than six hours with the congressional joint inquiry. And I've read your information, and, I mean, that's a very serious body and very serious inquiry -- not that we're not. But I can't believe over six hours you never expressed any concern to them that the Bush administration didn't act with sufficient urgency to address these horrible potential problems if you felt that way.
Did you ever list for the joint inquiry any of the measures that you thought should have been taken that weren't?
...
FIELDING: I understand. And I understand your testimony that you did that. What I don't understand is, if you had these deep feelings and deep concerns about the lack of ability and urgency within the Bush administration, that you didn't advise the joint inquiry. And I mean, did you feel it unnecessary to tell them that the Bush administration was too preoccupied with the Cold War issues or Iraq at that point?
CLARKE: I wasn't asked, sir. I think I provided the joint inquiry, as a member of the administration at the time, please recall, I provided the joint inquiry all the facts it needed to make the conclusions which I've made about how long it took and what the development of the policy process was like and the refusal of the administration to spin out for earlier decision things like the armed Predator.
... -- [DIRECTLY FOLLOWING FELDING'S QUESTIONING] -- ...
ROEMER: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Having served on the joint inquiry, the only person of this 9/11 panel to have served on the inquiry, I can say in open session to some of Mr. Fielding's inquiries that as the joint inquiry asked for information on the National Security Council and we requested that the National Security Adviser Dr. Rice come before the joint inquiry and answer those questions.
ROEMER: She refused. And she didn't come. She didn't come before the 9/11 commission.
And when we asked for some questions to be answered, Mr. Hadley answered those questions in a written form.
So I think part of the answer might be that we didn't have access to the January 25th memo. We didn't have access to the September 4th memo. We didn't have access to many of the documents and the e-mails. We're not only talking about Mr. Clarke being before the 9/11 commission for more than 15 hours, but I think in talking to the staff, we have hundreds of documents and e-mails that we didn't previously have, which hopefully informs us to ask Mr. Clarke and ask Dr. Rice the tough questions.
And I have some more tough questions for you, Mr. Clarke.
It will be interesting to watch Roemer as he was on both committee's. I think his call for declassifying Rice's private testimony is definately signficant. I hope the Democratic leadership will step up to the plate and call on the White House to declassify Rice's testimony if they choose to declassify Clarke's. I hope they keep the pressure on.
