Thomas H.

Kean April 20, 2004

CHAIR

Lee H. Hamilton
VICE CHAIR
The Honorable Wolfgang Ischinger
Richard Ben-Veniste Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany
4645 Reservoir Road, NW
Fred F. Fielding
Washington, DC 20007
Jamie S. Gorelick
Dear Ambassador Ischinger:
Slade Gorton

Bob Kerrey
I write to request your assistance in the work of the National Commission on
Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States. As you know, a delegation of
John F. Lehman Commission staff members recently concluded a very successful trip to
Germany, during which they met with a host of representatives of the German
Timothy J. Roemer
law enforcement and intelligence communities. Those meetings provided an
James R. Thompson invaluable opportunity for the Commission to hear first hand about the
impressive work by German authorities in investigating and prosecuting
Philip D. Zelikow
individuals implicated in the September 11 attacks.
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
The Commission is in the process of planning a hearing that will explore the
evolution of the 9/11 plot, from inception to completion. A key component of
that story, of course, is the development of the "Hamburg cell," which played
such a central role in the conspiracy. The objective of our hearing will be to
provide the public with an authoritative, factual account of the activities of the
9/11 conspirators as they planned and executed the attacks.

We believe that participation by a member of the German prosecution team

would add immeasurably to the hearing's value. Given time constraints and
the extensive nature of the material to be covered, we would wish to have
someone who, in addition to possessing a comprehensive knowledge of the
facts, could testify in English. In this regard, our staff noted that Dr. Matthias
Krauss of the Generalbundesanwaltschaft - one of the prosecutors in the
recently concluded trial of Abdelghani Mzoudi - qualified readily on both
counts.

Would it be possible for the Commission to include Dr. Krauss as a witness

on one of the panels at our hearing? The hearing is scheduled to take place on
June 8, 2004, in Washington, DC. In contrast to our most recent hearings, the
June 8 hearing will focus exclusively on the acts of the perpetrators of the
.9/11 attacks and will not seek to evaluate the work of government officials.

301 7th Street SW, Room 5125 26 Federal Plaza

Washington, DC 20407 Suite 13-100
T 202.331.4060 F 202.296.5545 New York, NY 10278
www.9-llcommission.gov T 212.264.1505 F 212.264.1595
The Honorable Wolfgang Ischinger
April 20, 2004
Page 2

I do hope we will be able to present testimony by Dr. Krauss at our hearing,

and would be tremendously grateful if you could facilitate this request. Thank
you very much for your attention.

Sincerely,

Philip zelikow
Executive Director

cc: Karl Hofmann

Dan Levin