Washington, April 4 (Reuters): The White House will vet “line by line” the report of an independent commission investigating the September 11, 2001, attacks before it is publicly released, the commission chairman said today.

Chairman Thomas Kean, a former Republican governor of New Jersey, said on NBC television’s Meet the Press that he was surprised to learn of the White House review, which he said was required under law to ensure any material that could compromise intelligence was not included.

“They go through it line by line,” Kean said, referring to the White House review process involving intelligence issues. White House chief of Staff Andrew Card will oversee the vetting.

The commission is expected to submit its report in July on intelligence failures before the 2001 attacks. Kean said he was confident the White House would finish its review so the report could be released well before the November presidential election. Commission vice chairman Lee Hamilton vowed not to let the White House “distort” the report.

Kean also suggested he would have preferred that President George W. Bush and Vice-President Dick Cheney appear separately in their private meeting with the commission, rather than together as they are slated to do under an agreement between the panel and the White House.

The disclosures indicate that although the White House has made concessions to the panel, including allowing national security adviser Condoleezza Rice to testify publicly this week, it still retains significant influence over the process.

Disputes with the White House over the release of classified material led to a seven-month delay in the release of a separate congressional report on the attacks.

Some material — particularly focusing on any Saudi role in the attacks — remains classified. Fifteen of the 19 hijackers who killed more than 3,000 people in the coordinated attacks on September 11, 2001 were Saudis.

But Kean said he believed the White House did not want to risk leaks from an unreleased report by the September 11 commission during the run-up to the election, or to see the report released close to the election. “I think it’s in the White House’s interest, our interest, everybody’s interest to get this out in July,” he said.

Hamilton, a former Democratic representative from Indiana, said he had long been troubled by the near-exclusive legal authority given to the President over the release of intelligence information.

However, he said, “We’re not going to let them distort our report. ... We do not want to put out a report with heavy redactions (deletions) in it.”

Asked about the plan for Bush and Cheney to appear together before the panel, Kean said, “All things considered, maybe we would have rather had them one at a time.” However, he said, “we don’t see any problem with it.” Commission member John Lehman called the arrangement a “face-saver” for the White House.

Kean declined to specify when Bush and Cheney would appear, but said it would be within the next few weeks.

Bush adviser Karen Hughes said on NBC that it was appropriate for Bush and Cheney to appear together, because they were often together for briefings before the attacks, the period the commission has focused on.

Rice is to testify before the panel on Thursday. Her testimony is expected to take about two-and-a half hours.