9/11 Families Urge Biden To Fulfill Promise, Release Info On Saudi Role
Survivors and loved ones of those who died in the 9/11 attacks are making it clear that if President Joe Biden doesn’t fulfill a prior promise to release classified information regarding Saudi Arabia’s role in the attacks, then they will not welcome him at any memorial.
In a statement obtained by NBC News, a group of survivors, first responders and family members is holding the president accountable for his promise as a candidate in October that he would declassify information regarding the attacks.
Mr. President, honor the 9/11 families. Declassify and release the information that sheds light on Saudi’s link to the barbaric 9/11 attacks. Hold the Saudis responsible for their continued atrocities in Yemen. Americans deserve the truth. https://t.co/cVjEuoebYl
— Ro Khanna (@RoKhanna) August 6, 2021
“We cannot in good faith, with variation to those lost, sick, and injured, welcome the President to our hallowed grounds until he fulfills his commitment,” the statement read.
The statement further reveals that there is no reason to keep the information classified any longer and that previous administrations' decisions to do so under the guise of national security were unmerited, and urged the current President to be the one to take a stand before they did.
“Twenty years later, there is simply no reason — unmerited claims of ‘national security’ or otherwise — to keep this information secret,” the statement reads. “But if President Biden reneges on his commitment and sides with the Saudi government, we would be compelled to publicly stand in objection to any participation by his administration in any memorial ceremony of 9/11.”
I DO NOT AGREE WITH ANY FAMILY CALLING FOR THIS. As many know, my brother died of cancer related to 9/11. He was a physician running the WTC triage. I will be in NY for 9/11 memorial events. @POTUS @JoeBiden , I would be honored to have you join us. https://t.co/DsvqiqisWH
— Fred Guttenberg (@fred_guttenberg) August 6, 2021
The families are seeking access to documents regarding whether Saudi Arabia aided or helped finance Al Qaeda when it came to the attacks, with a specific interest in a 2016 FBI investigation.
In 2017 sworn testimony by former FBI agent Stephen Moore, who was in charge of the Los Angeles task force team for PENTTBOM, for the FBI’s investigation into the attacks, indicates that the 9/11 Commission’s original findings that while a “problematic ally,” Saudi leaders couldn’t be implicated in the attack was false.
“Based on the evidence we gathered during the course of our investigation, I concluded that the diplomatic and intelligence personnel of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia knowingly provided material support to two 9/11 hijackers and facilitated the 9/11 plot. My colleagues in our investigation shared that conclusion,” Moore said at the time.
“We cannot in good faith, and with veneration to those lost, sick, and injured, welcome the president to our hallowed grounds until he fulfills his commitment...” https://t.co/PLS7V5lGGh
— Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) August 6, 2021
As for Biden, the group believes Biden needs to take action, but that for now, with the U.S. refusing to release the documents and upset the close ties between the two governments, it is the equivalent of rubbing salt in their wounds.
“It should not take this much fighting, the president of the United States should be standing next to us,” Brett Eagleson, whose father died in the attacks, told NBC.
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