In a highly unusual move, key Republicans in Congress are seeking to declassify testimony that former White House terrorism adviser Richard Clarke gave in 2002 about the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attack, senate Majority Leader Bill Frist said Friday.

Frist said the intent was to determine whether Clarke lied under oath ? either in 2002 or this week ? when he appeared before a bipartisan Sept. 11 commission and sharply criticized President Bush’s handling of the war on terror.

Under mounting pressure from Democrats about its response to the independent commission investigating the September 11, 2001, attacks, the White House says the National Security Adviser, Condoleezza Rice, will answer more questions from the panel.
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The White House said on Thursday that Dr Rice would go before the panel again, but only in private and not under oath.

The White House launched a full-scale assault on its former terrorism czar, Richard Clarke, on Monday, questioning his credibility and dismissing his accusations that senior Bush officials could have done more to prevent the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

“He wasn’t in the loop, frankly,” Vice President Dick Cheney said of Clarke on conservative Rush Limbaugh’s national radio show.