911

Fox News: Sept. 11 Panel Votes to Subpoena Defense Dept

WASHINGTON — A federal commission investigating the Sept. 11 attacks voted Friday to subpoena the Pentagon for documents related to the activities of U.S. air defenses on the day of the terrorist hijackings.

The independent commission said it was "especially dismayed" by incomplete document production on the part of the North American Aerospace Defense Command (search), or NORAD, the part of the Defense Department responsible for protecting North American airspace.

The commission's broad investigation includes questions about how, and how quickly, the Federal Aviation Administration (search) notified U.S. air defenses about hijacked planes on Sept. 11, 2001. The commission's first subpoena, issued last month, was to the FAA.

NY TIMES: 9/11 Panel Issues Subpoena to Pentagon

The federal commission investigating the Sept. 11 attacks stepped up pressure on the Bush administration to cooperate by issuing a subpoena on Friday to the Pentagon.

Members said they were still weighing a subpoena to the administration for Oval Office documents President Bush received in the days before Sept. 11, 2001, although the panel chose not to issue one today.

The 10-member panel said in a statement that it had encountered "serious delays" in obtaining information from the Defense Department. It voted to subpoena the Pentagon for documents, tapes and transcripts involving the actions of the North American Aerospace Defense Command, or Norad, on the morning of Sept. 11, as the suicide hijackings were being carried out. The Defense Command is responsible for protecting American airspace.