And so did John Ashcroft, contradicting prior statements, it would seem.

While disputing the claims made in Woodward's new book, Dr. Rice and John Ashcroft both have said that they either didn't get a warning from George Tenet, didn't remember it, or that the warning wasn't of imminent threat to the Country.

"What I am quite certain of is that I would remember if I was told, as this account apparently says, that there was about to be an attack in the United States, and the idea that I would somehow have ignored that I find incomprehensible," Rice said.

But now, the State Department has concluded that in a "...review of White House records ... George J. Tenet, then the director of central intelligence, did brief Condoleezza Rice and other top officials on July 10, 2001, about the looming threat from Al Qaeda".

Continuing...

According to two former intelligence officials, Mr. Tenet told those assembled at the White House about the growing body of intelligence the Central Intelligence Agency had collected pointing to an impending Al Qaeda attack.

To her credit, and perhaps proof that she was misleading us a little, Dr. Rice actually acted on the intel and had Tenet brief AG John Ashcroft and Sec. of Def. Don Rumsfeld.

But earlier today, John Ashcroft said "...how disappointing it was that they didn't come to me with this type of information".

So what have we here?