After pressure from victims’ families to examine FBI handling of alleged links of attackers to Saudi govt
US President Joe Biden on Friday ordered the Department of Justice to review documents from the FBI’s probe into the September 11, 2001, attacks for declassification and release.
“When I ran for president, I made a commitment to ensuring transparency regarding the declassification of documents on the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on America,” Biden said in a statement. “As we approach the 20th anniversary of that tragic day, I am honoring that commitment.”
“Today, I signed an executive order directing the Department of Justice and other relevant agencies to oversee a declassification review of documents related to the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s September 11th investigations,” the statement read.
The order requires US Attorney General Merrick Garland to make the declassified documents public over the next six months as it oversees “a declassification review of documents” related to the Federal Bureau of Investigation probe.
This comes a day after family members of victims of the September 11 attacks asked a US government watchdog on Thursday to investigate their suspicions that the FBI lied about or destroyed evidence linking Saudi Arabia to the hijackers.
They have long argued that the classified documents might contain evidence that the government of Saudi Arabia, a close US ally, had links to the hijackers who flew into the World Trade Center and Pentagon.
The request in a letter to Department of Justice Inspector General Michael Horowitz said “circumstances make it likely that one or more FBI officials committed willful misconduct with intent to destroy or secrete evidence to avoid its disclosure.”
Source: i24news
