Rice to testify before 9/11 commisson

After receiving much criticism from the media, President Bush decided on Tuesday to allow National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice to publicly speak before the 9/11 commission.

Bush also said in a speech on Tuesday that he and Vice President Cheney will "jointly meet with all members of the commission in a private session." However, according to a Washington Post article, Bush and Cheney will not be under oath when they testify. Also, the commission is prohibited from taping the session and is allowed only one note-taker.

President Bush had repeatedly refused to allow Rice to testify because doing so would undermine the constitutional principle of separation of powers. "We have separate branches of government -- the legislative branch and the executive branch. This commission, it takes its authority, derives its authority from the Congress, and it is a long-standing principle that sitting National Security Advisers do not testify before the Congress," Rice said in a 60 Minutes interview with Ed Bradley (transcript available here).

Bush said in the speech on Tuesday that "a president and his advisers, including his adviser for national security affairs, must be able to communicate freely and privately without being compelled to reveal those communications to the legislative branch."

Bush was willing to let Rice speak because the 9/11 commission agreed to conditions. The commission had to "agree in writing that Dr. Rice's testimony before the commission does not set any precedent for future commission requests" and "agree in writing that it will not request additional public testimony from any White House official, including Dr. Rice."