President Joe Biden on Friday directed the declassification of certain documents associated with the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, a supportive gesture to victims’ families who have long sought the records in hopes of implicating the Saudi government.
The order, coming little quite every week before the 20th anniversary of the attacks, may be a significant moment during a yearslong tussle between the govt and therefore the families over what classified information about the run-up to the attacks might be made public. That conflict was on display last month when many relatives, survivors, and first responders came out against Biden’s participation in 9/11 memorial events if the documents remained classified.
Biden said Friday that he was making good on a campaign commitment by ordering the declassification review and pledged that his administration “will still engage respectfully with members of this community.”
“The significant events in question occurred 20 years ago or longer, and that they concern a tragic moment that continues to resonate in American history and within the lives of numerous Americans,” the chief order states. “It is therefore critical to make sure that the us Government maximizes transparency, counting on classification only narrowly tailored and necessary.”
The order directs the Department of Justice and other Executive Office of the President agencies to start a declassification review and requires that declassified documents be released over subsequent six months Brett Eagleson, whose father, Bruce, was among the planet Trade Center victims and who is an advocate for other victims’ relatives, commended the action as a “critical initiative .” He said the families would be closely watching the method to form sure that the Department of Justice follows through and acts “in straightness .”
“The first test are going to be on 9/11, and therefore the world are going to be watching. we glance forward to thanking President Biden face to face next week as he joins us at Ground Zero to honor those that died or were injured 20 years ago,” Eagleson said.
Still, the sensible impact of the chief order and any new documents it’d yield wasn’t immediately clear. Public documents released within the last 20 years , including by the 9/11 Commission, have detailed numerous Saudi entanglements but haven’t proved government complicity.
A long-running lawsuit in court in ny aims to carry the Saudi government accountable and alleges that Saudi officials provided significant support to a number of the hijackers before the attacks. The lawsuit took a serious breakthrough this year with the questioning under oath of former Saudi officials, and relations have long regarded the disclosure of declassified documents as a crucial step in making their case.
The Saudi government has denied any connection to the attacks Fifteen of the hijackers were Saudi, as was Osama bin Laden , whose al-Qaida network was behind the attacks. Particular scrutiny has centered on the support offered to the primary two hijackers to arrive within the U.S., Nawaf al-Hazmi and Khalid al-Mihdhar, including from a Saudi national with ties to the Saudi government who helped the lads find and lease an apartment in San Diego and who had earlier attracted FBI scrutiny.
Though many documents examining potential Saudi ties are released, U.S. officials have long regarded other records as too sensitive for disclosure. On Thursday, victims’ families and survivors urged the Justice Department’s military officer to research the FBI’s apparent inability to locate key pieces of evidence they have been seeking.
The Department of Justice revealed last month that the FBI had recently completed an investigation examining certain 9/11 hijackers and potential co-conspirators, which it had been working toward providing more information Under the terms of the chief order, the FBI must complete by Sept. 11 its declassification review of documents from that probe, which it’s mentioned because the “Subfile Investigation.” Additional documents, including any phone and bank records and reports with investigative findings, are to be reviewed with an eye fixed for disclosure over the course of subsequent six months.
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