Uncovering the Final Secrets of the Bush Administration

By Charles Homans, Washington Monthly. Posted December 1, 2008.

Even if the commission turns up nothing new, even if its findings are watered down, it still has value if it can write this kind of official history. Thomas Kean has a funny story from the early days of the 9/11 Commission's work, about his first classified briefing from the FBI. It took place at an undisclosed Washington address, in a room accessible only to people with the right security clearances, protected by high-tech locks and wired to block listening devices. In the secured room, Kean was given a copy of the bureau's authoritative record of the events of September 11, a thick document stamped TOP SECRET. An FBI minder looked on as he read it.

Kean, who had only recently been cleared for access to this kind of material, had high expectations. But as he leafed through the file, he grew disappointed. The information the bureau had provided him was nothing new -- he had already read most of it in newspapers.

"I know all of this," Kean told the FBI man.

"Yes," the minder replied, "but you didn't know it was true."

See more stories tagged with: white house, secrets

Charles Homans is an editor of the Washington Monthly.

Liked this story? Get top stories in your inbox each week from Rights and Liberties! Sign up now »