The FBI released a recently declassified 16-page document on Saturday night relating to logistical support provided by two of the Saudi hijackers on the eve of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.
The document describes the kidnappers’ contacts with Saudi partners in the United States, but offers no evidence that the Saudi government was complicit in the plot.
The document, released on the 20th anniversary of the attacks, is the first investigative record to be released since that President Joe Biden ordered the declassification of certain documents related to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 that for years have remained out of the public eye.
In recent weeks, Biden had come under pressure from longtime victims’ relatives who wanted the records in his attempt to file a lawsuit in New York alleging that senior Saudi officials were complicit in the attacks.
“The significant events in question occurred two decades or more ago, and refer to a tragic moment that continues to resonate in American history and in the lives of so many Americans,” the executive order states. “Therefore, it is critical to ensure that the US government maximizes transparency, relying on classification only when it is strictly tailored and necessary.”
The order directs the Justice Department and other executive branch agencies to begin a declassification review and requires declassified documents to be released within the next six months.
Previous investigations have found links between Saudi nationals and some of the hijackers, but have not established that the government was directly involved.
A long-running lawsuit in a federal court in New York alleges that Saudi officials provided significant support to some of the hijackers prior to the attacks and aims to hold the kingdom to account. The Saudi government has denied any connection to the attacks.
Families have long claimed that Saudi officials played a more direct role than the US government has publicly said, citing in part the fact that the first two hijackers to arrive in the United States before the attack were received and assisted. by a Saudi diplomat. They have long accused the government of obstructing their demands for documents, and on Thursday urged the Justice Department inspector general to investigate the FBI’s apparent inability to locate a photograph, video and other records they seek.
The Justice Department revealed last month that the FBI had recently concluded an investigation examining certain 9/11 hijackers and possible co-conspirators, and that it would now work to see if it could share information that it had previously determined could not be disclosed. .
Under the terms of the executive order, the FBI must complete by September 11 its declassification review of the documents from that investigation, which it has referred to as the “Subfile Investigation.”
Over the course of the next six months, the order states that the government must review for declassification purposes all interview reports, documents with investigative findings, any telephone and bank records, other interview reports, and other information that is potentially deemed relevant to attacks.
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