Democratic senators increase pressure to declassify 9/11 documents related to Saudi role in attacks

Democratic senators and families of victims of the 9/11 attacks called on Thursday for the Biden administration to declassify and make available key documents related to Saudi Arabia’s role in the terrorist attacks, ahead of the 20th anniversary commemorating the tragedy.

Standing outside the Capitol, Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) rejected reasoning that has been invoked by both Democratic and Republican White House administrations to withhold information related to Riyadh’s role in the attacks under the guise of national security.

“Let’s get real here: We’re talking about the declassification of evidence relating to an attack that took place 20 years ago — and not just any attack, an attack that claimed nearly 3,000 American lives,” said Menendez, who chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

“If the United States government is sitting on any documents that may implicate Saudi Arabia or any individual or any country in the events of Sept. 11, these families, and the American people, have a right to know.”

Menendez and Blumenthal are co-sponsors of the September 11th Transparency Act of 2021. The bill, introduced Thursday, would require the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) to oversee a full declassification review of the government’s investigation of the 9/11 attacks.

Families of the victims of the 9/11 attacks are seeking government documents related to Saudi Arabia’s role in aiding or financing any of the 19 individuals associated with the terrorist group al Qaeda and who carried out the devastating attack on the twin towers of the World Trade Center in lower Manhattan, the Pentagon, and the downing in Pennsylvania of a hijacked flight. 

The families are party to a lawsuit against Saudi Arabia alleging Riyadh’s involvement in organizing the attack and are calling out the Department of Justice and the FBI for continuing to block the release of key intelligence related to the Kingdom’s connection under the guise of the “states secret privilege.” 

“These families have mounted a legal struggle against the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and now their struggle is not only against the Saudis, it is against their own government that is continuing to conceal evidence necessary for them to have that fair day in court,” said Blumenthal, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee. 

Click HERE to read the full article.