Synthaholic
Diamond Member
- Jul 21, 2010
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Joseph Biden is a GREAT president!
Joe Biden tells FBI to release files on 9/11 investigation – and possible Saudi links
Joe Biden has announced the wholesale review and declassification of files from the investigation into the 9/11 attack, in response to intense pressure from Congress and victims’ families currently suing Saudi Arabia.
“As the 20th anniversary of 9/11 approaches, the American people deserve to have a fuller picture of what their government knows about those attacks,” an executive order issued on Friday said.
It said the full record would be disclosed in tranches over the coming six months “except when the strongest possible reasons counsel otherwise”.
The order said that while the “indiscriminate” release of information could jeopardise national security and the ability to prevent future attacks, a better balance had to be struck between transparency and accountability.
It said “information should not remain classified when the public interest in disclosure outweighs any damage to the national security”.
Victims’ families have long demanded the US release the findings of Operation Encore, a FBI investigation into possible Saudi complicity, particularly contacts between Saudi officials and two 9/11 hijackers who lived in California in the months before the attacks.
Riyadh has denied any involvement in the hijacking and is fighting a lawsuit brought by the families in federal court in New York.
The executive order comes a month after legislation was introduced with bipartisan support in Congress demanding greater transparency in the investigation.
Joe Biden tells FBI to release files on 9/11 investigation – and possible Saudi links
Joe Biden has announced the wholesale review and declassification of files from the investigation into the 9/11 attack, in response to intense pressure from Congress and victims’ families currently suing Saudi Arabia.
“As the 20th anniversary of 9/11 approaches, the American people deserve to have a fuller picture of what their government knows about those attacks,” an executive order issued on Friday said.
It said the full record would be disclosed in tranches over the coming six months “except when the strongest possible reasons counsel otherwise”.
The order said that while the “indiscriminate” release of information could jeopardise national security and the ability to prevent future attacks, a better balance had to be struck between transparency and accountability.
It said “information should not remain classified when the public interest in disclosure outweighs any damage to the national security”.
Victims’ families have long demanded the US release the findings of Operation Encore, a FBI investigation into possible Saudi complicity, particularly contacts between Saudi officials and two 9/11 hijackers who lived in California in the months before the attacks.
Riyadh has denied any involvement in the hijacking and is fighting a lawsuit brought by the families in federal court in New York.
The executive order comes a month after legislation was introduced with bipartisan support in Congress demanding greater transparency in the investigation.