WASHINGTON, March 30 (UPI) -- President George W. Bush announced Tuesday he and Vice President Richard Cheney would appear jointly in a private session with the commission investigating the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, while national security adviser Condoleezza Rice would testify under oath in public session.
Bush, speaking in a hastily arranged appearance in the White House briefing room, said the undertakings were agreed to after the panel formally known as the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States gave written guarantees that the appearances would not be taken as precedent to void or weaken the principle of separation of powers between the executive and legislative branches of government.
"The leaders of Congress and the commission agree -- they agree with me that the circumstances of this case are unique because the events of September the 11th, 2001 were unique," Bush said.
"Our nation must never forget the loss or the lessons of September the 11th, and we must not assume that the danger has passed. The United States will confront gathering dangers to our freedom and security.
"The commission knows its responsibility: to collect vital information and to present it to the American people. And I know my responsibility as well: to act against the continuing threat and to protect the American people. I made that pledge to my fellow citizens and I will keep it," he said.
The offer for the three to appear was made to the commission Tuesday morning in a letter from Bush's counsel, Judge Alberto Gonzales, after previous negotiating.
The letter also followed continuing clamor over earlier White House insistence that Rice not testify in public because of the separation of powers issues.
"We continue to believe ... that the principles underlying the constitutional separation of powers counsel strongly against such public testimony and that Dr. Rice's testimony before the commission can occur only with recognition that the events of September 11, 2001, present the most extraordinary and unique circumstances, and with conditions and assurances designed to limit harm to the ability of future presidents to receive candid advice," the letter said.
In February, Rice met privately for four hours with some of the commission members and answered questions about the attacks on New York and Washington, as well as administration counter-terror efforts before and after the fact. However, she was not under oath.
In television interviews, Rice repeatedly said the administration had nothing to hide but that she was not allowed to testify under oath in open session.
It was later indicated that notes taken during her closed-door questioning could be made public.
In his offer Tuesday, Gonzales said the conditions on her testimony in open session at a date yet to be decided were that such testimony not set, or be cited as having set, "a precedent for future requests for a national security adviser or any other White House official to testify before a legislative body."
The commission would also have to agree in writing not to request additional public testimony from any White House official.
The commission later Tuesday agreed to the White House stipulations.
"The commission welcomes the decision of the president and the vice president to meet in one joint private session with all 10 commissioners," it said in a prepared statement. "We also commend the president for his decision to accept the commission's request for public testimony, under oath, by the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs, Dr. Condoleezza Rice.
"These decisions represent a significant contribution by the president to the work of the commission, consistent with our mandate to 'provide a full and complete accounting' of the terrorist attacks of September 11.
"We agree with the observation by the president's counsel that Dr. Rice's appearance before the commission is in response to the special circumstances presented by the events of September 11 and the commission's unique mandate and should not be viewed as a precedent for future requests for public testimony by White House officials," it said.
The White House has maintained it has given the commission full access to information in regard to all matters relating to the attacks by al-Qaida, including making more than 20 Executive Office personnel and 800 other officials available for interviews, giving more than 100 briefings and turning over more than 2 million pages of documents.
Bush had agreed to meet with the co-chairmen of the commission in private to answer their questions, but that immediately came under fire on Capitol Hill over its restrictions on attendance and time -- Bush initially wanted to limit the meeting to one hour.
Former President Bill Clinton is also to meet with the commission in a closed-door session.
White House officials did not indicate a possible date for Bush and Cheney to meet with the commission, and also indicated they would not be under oath.
"We've indicated before that all the questions will be answered," an official told United Press International.
The White House has been in battle mode for more than a week following allegations by former counter-terror chief Richard Clarke that it did not do enough to prevent the Sept. 11 attacks and then diffused the focus on the anti-terror war by zeroing in on Iraq.
The Bush White House, Clarke said, deserved a "failing grade" in counter-terrorism.
Clarke, a Clinton administration holdover who had also served two previous presidents, resigned from the National Security Council in January 2003 following a demotion and an apparent spurning for the No. 2 position in the new Department of Homeland Security.
Clarke's allegations, hotly disputed by the White House, appeared in his just-released memoir, "Against All Enemies," and in television interviews and testimony last week before the commission.
The White House says Clarke's allegations are self-serving and politically motivated.
A new USA Today/CNN/Gallup Poll shows 46 percent of the 1,001 adults interviewed by telephone March 26-28 believed the administration over Clarke (44 percent), but 53 percent also believe the administration was covering something up on the handling of intelligence prior to the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon and the crash of an airliner in Pennsylvania which together claimed nearly 3,000 lives.
Bush said Tuesday he recognized the importance of the panel in delving into the events leading up to and after Sept. 11 to help prevent future terrorist attacks on the homeland.
"This commission has been charged with a crucial task," Bush said. "To prevent future attacks, we must understand the methods of our enemies. The terrorist threat being examined by the commission is still present, still urgent and still demands our full attention."
