Biden orders review of attack files
Families see move as step toward declassifiying Saudi evidence
President Biden is giving the loved ones of 9/11 victims hope they can finally get some answers.
The president Friday signed an executive order mandating a full declassification review of 9/11-related investigatory files.
“We are thrilled to see the President forcing the release of more evidence about Saudi connections to the 9/11 Attacks,” said Terry Strada, whose husband, Tom, was killed in the World Trade Center. “We have been fighting the FBI and intelligence community for too long, but this looks like a true turning point.”
As the Herald has reported, the 9/11 families — made up of thousands who lost loved ones in the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks or suffered from the toxic fallout from the toppling of the Twin Towers — want the DOJ and FBI to unseal all they know of any links back to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Members of Congress are also pushing the September 11 Transparency Act to require a full declassification of files relating to the 9/11 investigation.
The executive order states, in part, it is “critical to ensure that the United States Government maximizes transparency, relying on classification only when narrowly tailored and necessary.”
The order directs the Justice Department and other executive branch agencies to begin a declassification review, and requires that declassified documents be released over the next six months.
Brett Eagleson, whose father, Bruce, was among the World Trade Center victims, told Herald this is a “good first step” — but he added, “we’re going to be watching.”