9 11 Commission Witnesses Intimidated By Government Minders

With all the news focusing on the latest Swine Flu Outbreak this week, the story of 9 11 Commission witnesses being intimidated by government minders hasn’t had the kind of impact that it should have done.

A memo that was sent out in October ’03 stated that the commission was concerned about government minders intimidating their witnesses and shaping their testimony.  The memo was named “Executive Branch Minders’ Intimidation of Witnesses,” and it went on to state that minders were answering questions that were asked of the witnesses.

The 9 11 Commission then went on to say that Minders acted as “monitors, reporting to their respective agencies on Commission staffs lines of inquiry and witnesses’ verbatim responses.” The staff thought this “conveys to witnesses that their superiors will review their statements and may engage in retribution;”

It then went on to state that Minders “positioned themselves physically and have conducted themselves in a manner that we believe intimidates witnesses from giving full and candid responses to our questions.”