Key Takeaways
- The 9/11 Commission faced allegations of being a deliberately fraudulent investigation.
- The Bush administration is accused of obstructing early 9/11 inquiries to protect its image.
- Key appointments to the 9/11 Commission reportedly had significant conflicts of interest.
- The final 9/11 Commission report is characterized by some as a deliberate cover-up.
Deep Dive
- In January 2000, the CIA was reportedly tracking two future 9/11 hijackers.
- Two other hijackers were training in Florida as the Supreme Court decided the 2000 election.
- The official 9/11 Commission report is described as a fraud, intentionally underfunded, and poorly structured.
- The commission's chairman later admitted it was "set up to fail."
- The Bush administration claimed 9/11 attacks were unavoidable, a narrative two-thirds of Americans recognized as false by May 2002.
- Vice President Dick Cheney and Karl Rove allegedly focused on protecting President Bush's reputation and re-election chances.
- Cheney reportedly threatened Senate Majority Leader Tom Dashel in 2002 regarding the investigation.
- A joint inquiry discovered NSA intercepts from al-Qaeda indicating an imminent attack in June 2002.
- Following a leak, the FBI, under Robert Mueller, allegedly intimidated the joint inquiry committee with threats.
- John McCain supported establishing an independent 9/11 commission, signed into law by President Bush on November 27, 2002.
- The commission was established with weak subpoena power, an 18-month timeline, and a $3 million budget.
- The White House influenced the chairman selection, initially proposing Henry Kissinger.
- Kissinger resigned the day after being questioned about representing Saudi or bin Laden family interests during a meeting.
- Karl Rove offered the chairmanship to Tom Kean, who later admitted the commission was "set up to fail."
- Philip Zelikow was appointed executive director despite being an active Bush administration official and co-authoring a book with Condoleezza Rice.
- Zelikow allegedly acted as a gatekeeper to prevent uncovering truth, consolidate power, and protect the Bush administration.
- He is accused of pre-writing the report and potentially laying groundwork for the Iraq War.
- Zelikow made a secret agreement allowing the White House to review congressional inquiry files before the commission.
- He allegedly pressured a CIA employee regarding Condoleezza Rice's recollections.
- Phone logs reportedly show regular contact between Zelikow, Rice, and Karl Rove, despite Rove's denials.
- Zelikow allegedly inserted sentences linking al-Qaeda to Iraq and Saddam Hussein into drafts, which were later removed.
- He allowed witnesses promoting the White House's Iraq-al-Qaeda narrative to testify at public hearings.