SD B4 State Dept Fdr- Letters Re State Dept Document Requests and Production 093

8/14/2019 SD B4 State Dept Fdr- Letters Re State Dept Document Requests and Production 093

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S/S 200329667

MEMORANDUM FOR MR. DANIEL MARCUSGENERAL COUNSEL

NATIONAL COMMISSION ON TERRORIST ATTACKS UPONTHE UNITED STATES

. , . .United States Department of State;


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Me 1 1 7 3 0S/S 200328620 XR 200317214

United States Department of StateW a s h i n g t o n , D.C. 20520November 18, 2003

SECRET/NOFORN(UNCLASSIFIED when separated from attachments)

MEMORANDUM FOR MR. DANIEL MARCUSGENERAL COUNSEL

NATIONAL COMMISSION ON TERRORIST ATTACKS UPONTHE UNITED STATES

SUBJECT: National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon theUnited States Request for Documents (Request forDocuments Request No. 1, Installment 12)

This is in response to the National Commission on TerroristAttacks Upon the United States' request for Department of Statedocuments .

Attached is the twelfth installment of documents inresponse to the Commission's "DOS Document Request No. 1." andresponds to all of the questions in the request. Thisinstallment consists of 389 documents. Additional installmentswill be provided as we complete our search and review ofmaterials .

Under Executive Order 12958, the Department of State maynot disseminate classified information outside the ExecutiveBranch except under conditions that ensure that afforded to suchinformation within the Executive Branch. We ask that onlyappropriate cleared members of staff be granted access to thematerial and that it be protected by applying standards at leastas stringent as E.G. 12958 on the handling of classifiedinformation.

Although some material is not classified, the designationas "Sensitive But Unclassified" requires special handling.Therefore we request that all of these documents be protectedfrom unauthorized disclosure.

SECRET /NOFORN( UNCLAS S I F I ED when separated from attachments)


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We hope this information is useful to you. As always,please do not hesitate to contact us if you have furtherquestions.

Af VVX---Karl Hofma

Executive Secretary

Attachments:Tab 1 - Incoming RequestTab 2 - Index and Documents Responsive to Document

Request No. 1



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04:50 FAX 202 647 5620 S ES @]002

United S t a t e s Department of S t a t eWashington, D.C. 20520October 8, 2003

MEMORANDUM FOR MR. DANIEL MARCU SGENERAL COUNSEL

NATIONAL COMMISSION ON TERRORIST ATTACKS UPON THE UNITED STATESSubject: Document RequestsFurther to my memo on this topic of September 5, 2003, theDepartment is in the final stages of processing for release allresponsive documents to the Commission's six document requeststo date. We had anticipated this process being complete nolater than September 30, but additional responsive materialswere identified. In all, the Department will have reviewed over402,000 pages and produced more than 63,000 responsive pages,once final processing is complete. The Department expects toconclude its response to the Commission's six document requestsduring the week of October 13, 2003.Thank you.

dJY ^ / V A A ^ ,IKarl HofmanicExecutive Secretary


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K b o 5 O l o o200322525XR200319446United States Department ofState

Washington, D.C. 20520www.state.gov

September 9, 2003SECRET/NOFORN/ORCON(UNCLASSIFIED when separated from attachments)

MEMORANDUM FOR DANIEL MARCUSGENERAL COUNSEL

NATIONAL COMMISSION ON TERRORIST ATTACKS UPON THE UNITED STATESSUBJECT: National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the

United States Request for Documents (Request forDocuments Request No. 4)

This is in response to the National Commission on TerroristAttacks Upon the United States' request for Department of Statedocuments.

Attached is the fourth installment of documents in responseto the Commission's fourth request, specifically documents inresponse to items 2, 4-6, 10, 11, 13-16, 19 and 23. Thisinstallment consists of 617 classified and unclassifieddocuments, primarily cables and memoranda. Additionalinstallments will be provided as we complete our search andreview of materials.

Under Executive Order 12958, the Department of State may notdisseminate classified information outside the Executive Branchexcept under conditions that ensure that afforded to suchinformation within the Executive Branch. We ask that onlyappropriate cleared members of staff be granted access to thematerial and that it be protected by applying standards at leastas stringent as E.O. 12958 on the handling of classifiedinformation.

Although some material is not classified, its designation as"Sensitive But Unclassified" requires special handling.Therefore we request that all of these documents be protectedfrom unauthorized disclosure.

SECRET/NOFORN/ORCON(UNCLASSIFIED when separated from attachments)


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SECRET /NOFORN /ORCON(UNCLASS IF IED when separated from attachments)-2-

We hope this information is useful to you. As always,please do not hesitate to contact us if you have furtherquestions.

Karl HofmannExecutive Secretary

Attachment:Documents responsive to Document Request No. 4,item numbers 2, 4-6, 10, 11, 13, 14, 15, 16, 19 and 23

SECRET/NOFORN/ORCON(UNCLASSIFIED when separated from attachments)


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THE SECRETARY OF STATEWASHINGTON

August 25, 2003

Dear Mr. Chairman: . . . .Thank you for your recent letter co-signed by Vice

Chairman Hamilton. The Commission's investigation into thefacts and circumstances surrounding the September 11, 2001terrorist attacks is of crucial importance to our nation. Itake the Commission's requests for information from the StateDepartment very seriously. We are working to meet theserequests in the most thorough and expeditious manner possible.I have instructed my staff to give the highest priority toresponding to your requests, so that the Commission caneffectively complete its important task.

As our country approaches the second anniversary ofSeptember 11, I look forward to our continued collaboration toassist you in your mandate. The Commission's evaluations andrecommendations will provide valuable information to theAmerican public and our government.

Please be assured of my continued support for theCommission's important work.

Sincerely,

The HonorableThomas Kean, Chair,

National Commission on TerroristAttacks upon the United States,

301 7 ch Street, SW, Room 5125,Washington, DC 20407.


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H.KeanCHAIRH. HamiltonVICE CHAIR

Ben-Veniste

F. FieldingGorelick

GortonLehman

J. RoemerR Thompson

D. ZelikrwDIRECTOR

August 26, 2003

MEMORANDUM

To: Karl Hofinann, Department of StateFrom: Daniel Marcus, General CounselSubj: Most Important Overdue Documents

As a follow-upto the letter to Secretary Powell dated August 19, 2003,here are the most important categories of documents requested by theCommission that are overdue:DOS Document Request No. 1 - Items 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 9DOS Document Request No. 2 - Item 11DOS Document Request No. 3 - Items 1, 2, 3, and 4DOS Document Request No. 4 - Items 2, 4, 6, 11 and 13We look forward to the Department's prompt production of theseoverdue items, as well as positions on access to all of the documentsresponsive to all of our outstanding requests, as set forth in the August 19letter. If you have any questions, please give me a call.cc: Dan Levin, DOJ

TEL (202) 331-4060F A X (202) 296-5545

www.9-1lcommission.gov


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Kean

H. HamiltonC H A I R

Ben-VenisteCleland

F. FieldingS. Oorel ickGorton

F. Lehm anJ. Roemer

R. Thompson

D. Zel ikowD I R E C T O R

August 19, 2003

The Honorable Colin L. PowellSecretary of State2201 C Street, NWWashington, DC 20520-0001D ear Secretary Powell:Public L aw 107-306 directs the Commission to investigate the facts an dcircumstances surrounding the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, includingthe nation's preparedness for and imm ediate response to those attacks. We arealso m andated to identify and evaluate lessons learned and m akerecommendations for the future. The statute authorizes the Commission tosecure needed inform ation directly from any agency. The Commission hasthus made numerous requests for documents an d discussions with officialsfrom your department. Given the extraordinary character of the 9/11 eventsand our mandate, the scope an d sensitivity of our requests have few , if any,precedents.We are therefore all the more grateful for the efforts you and your colleagueshave made so far to deal with ou r man y, necessary requests. With so manyother issues confronting you and your staff, we do understand how hard thiscan be. We try to make appropriate allowance s when w e know peop le aredoing their best. In July the C omm ission issued an interim report on ourprogress so far. In that report we said the coming weeks would be critical.W e promised another report in September that would appraise whether thelevel of volun tary cooperation is sufficient so that we will be able ttJtlo the jobwe are charged to do under the statute.That time is now approaching. You are en titled to some advan ce notice ofwhat we need. To make such a decisive appraisal an d properly evaluate yourdepartment's cooperation, we will assess:1. You r policy choiceson e way or anotheron every access issue posed byou r pending requests.2. Whether we actually receive the most im portant categories of documentsthat are already overdue . We will follow up to be sure ou r points ofcontact know w hich overdue documents we regard as litmu s tests fo reffective cooperation. 301 71'1 Street SW, Room 5125

Washington, DC 20407T 202.331.4060 F 202.296.5545www.9-llcommission.gov


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The Honorable Colin L. PowellAugust 19, 2003Page 2

W e understand that you and your staff may need a few more weeks to finalizepolicy choices and push through delivery of key documents. Therefore w ethink it is reasonable to wait and assess the situation based on positionscommu nicated w ith us and documents that have actually been delivered orotherwise made available to us by COB on Friday, September 5, 2003.As the second anniversary of the devastating attacks on our countryapproaches, we thank you for working with us to m eet the challenge ofunderstanding how and why America suffered such a devastating attack, andhow to prevent another.

Sincerely,

Thomas H. Kean Lee H. Ham iltonChair Vice Chaircc: Karl W . Hofinann


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H . Kean

H. HamiltonC H A I Rrd Ben-VenisteCleland

F. FieldingS. Gorelick

F. LehmanJ. Roemer

R . Thompson

D. ZelikowD I R E C T O R

August 15, 2003M r. Karl HofinannExecutive SecretaryOffice of the Executive SecretariatU.S. Department o f StateWashington, D.C. 20520Dear Karl:Consistent with your conversation with Betty Swope of our staff, theComm ission is making the follow ing request for information by letter ratherthan through a more formal document request. The Com mission requests thatthe Department of State produce a list containing th e following information:(1 ) the names of all Department personnel (current an d former) who issuedvisas to any of the nineteen September 11, 2001 hijackers; (2) for eachofficial, the nam e of the hijacker, classification of the visa, and date ofissuance; (3) the post where each such visa was issued; and (4) the currentpost an d assignment fo r each official. Th e Com mission requests thisinformation in connection with its statutory mandate to investigate all the factsand circumstances surrounding the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.Given the concerns that have been raised about furth er dissemination of thisinformation by the Commission, the Commission has agreed that it will notpublicly disclose the names of these officers, in its report or otherwise,without prior agreement by the Department.If yo u have any questions about this request, please give Betty or ma^a call.W e look forward to receiving this information as soon as possible. Thank yo ufor your continuing cooperation with the Commission's requests.Yours sincerely,

Daniel MarcusGeneral Counselcc : Brian H . Hoo k (U.S. D epartment of Justice)

30 1 7 th Street SW, Room 5125Washington , DC 20407T 202.331.4060 F 202.296.5545www.9-11 commission.gov


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H. Kean

Ben-Venistex Cleland

F. FieldingS. Gorelick

F. LehmanJ. Roetner

R. Thompson

D. Zelikow

August 14, 2003Mr. Karl HofmannExecu tive SecretaryOffice of the Executive SecretariatU.S. Departmen t of StateWashington, D.C. 20520Dear Karl:As you know, the statute that created the National Commission on TerroristAttacks Upo n the Un ited States (Public Law 107-306) directs the Com m issionto investigate the facts and circumstances surrounding the September 11, 2001terrorist attacks, including the nation's preparedness for, and immediateresponse to, those attacks, as well as to evaluate the lessons learned from thoseattacks and to m ake recomm endations for preventing future attacks. Th estatute authorizes the Co m mission to secure inform ation directly from an yexecutive department, bureau or agency for purposes of its investigation.hi connection with its investigation, the Commission has asked theDepartment o f State to produce docum ents pursuant to several docum entrequests, and we have further asked that the Department refrain from itsstandard practice in other circumstances of redacting certain information, suchas drafting and clearing information, from the documents it produces. Weunderstand that the Department has now decided not to m ake such redactionsin the docum ents it produces to the Co m m ission, and we welcom e thatdecision. In connection with that decision, the Commission has agreed that itwill not make drafting and clearing info rm ation available to the public,disclose such information in its report, or otherwise further disseminate suchinformation, including to Congress, w ithout prior agreement by theDepartment.Thank you for your continuing efforts, and the efforts of m any others at theDepartment, to cooperate with the Com m ission and to respond to our requests.Yours sincerely,

Daniel MarcusGeneral Counselcc: Brian H. Hook (U.S. Departm ent of Justice) 301 7'h Street SW, Room 5125

Washington , DC 20407T 202.331.4060 F 202.296.5545www.9-1 lcommission.gov