Speaking Up - My email to the 9-11 Commission

Honorable Chairman Kean and co-Chairman Hamilton,

I am a resident of xxxxx, Illinois. I am a registered Republican voter with no further political or activist affiliations.

As a private citizen I have been watching the televised 9-11 hearings with interest. I believe the Commission has done impressive work and has heard in the last few weeks from an impressive roster of national policy makers. I believe the Commission's work is valuable if you will follow the facts and avoid partisanship.

However, I am disturbed by the events of this week regarding Commissioner Gorelick's conflict of interest exposed by the Justice Department's declassification of the "wall" memo that she authored. I have 3 comments:

1. Commissioner Gorelick clearly has a conflict of interest and must not be allowed to remain on the Commission if your report is to be valid. Congressman Sensenbrenner has delineated the clear language of your recusal statute and Commissioner Gorelick clearly meets that standard. It is unfathomable that she would be allowed to vote on the final report in light of her conflict. She should, in fact, be a witness before the Commission and not a member.

2. Commissioner Gorelick has indicated that she will not resign. You must do your duty as chairman and remove her. To fail to do so will taint your final report fatally.

Circling the wagons here is the wrong thing to do. Defending the indefensible leads to silly public statements like your recent statement that "people should stay out of our business". The work of the Commission is the public's business and your statement was ill advised and arrogant. Make a clear evaluation of the conflict, which is inarguable, and act.

3. It is, to me, the height of irony that your Commission, some members of which have been engaged in a public "gotcha" game of asking "How could they not know", suffers the same fate. I ask you:

How could you not know when she was selected for the Commission that Commissioner Gorelick's work as a policy maker in both the Justice Department and the Department of Defense during the time period in question put her in direct conflict of interest with the stated mission of the Commission?

I understand that replacing a Commissioner at this late stage is problematic. However, how could you not know that it would eventually be required and let it go this long?

You must do your duty and remove Commissioner Gorelick from the 9-11 Commission.

Best Regards,