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Current Events » in reply to “Condi Rice would be a superb witness. She is anxious to testify. The president would dearly love to have her testify,” Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld told reporters.

She already has testified before the commission...
Larry J — (archived)

for 4 hours, according to this CNN article. Only, she testified in private, as opposed to public testimony that gives a platform for grandstanding by the commission members.

Hamilton, a former Democratic congressman from Indiana, said Rice "has been very helpful to us" in private sessions.

"She's told us she's happy to have us come back, so we're going to get the information that we want in the commission," Hamilton said.

"But there's another whole dimension here, and that dimension is the public dimension -- and I think the American public would benefit from hearing Condi Rice testify under oath."

Sunday, Rice told "60 Minutes" that testifying in public was not possible, given her position. She has already given four hours of private testimony to the panel.

The White House argues that as a member of the White House staff, Rice should not be called to testify publicly under the principle of executive privilege.

"There's an important principle involved here. We have separate branches of government -- the legislative branch and the executive branch," Rice said.

"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.

"I'm more than happy to spend as much time as they would like answering further questions," Rice said.

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