DOJ reviewing 9/11 files after victims’ families ask Biden to skip memorials

The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced on Monday that it will review classified information and documents related to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and consider their release following pressure on President Biden from victims’ families.

Families of victims, survivors and first responders told Biden last week not to attend any memorial events for the attack unless his administration declassifies documents that pertain to Saudi Arabia’s role in the terrorist attacks.

The group pointed to a promise then-candidate Biden made on the campaign trail in October, when he said he would direct his attorney general to look into the “merits of all cases where the invocation of privilege is recommended” and “err on the side of disclosure.”

The group said it “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.”

Biden welcomed the Justice Department’s decision on Monday.

“As I promised during my campaign, my Administration is committed to ensuring the maximum degree of transparency under the law, and to adhering to the rigorous guidance issued during the Obama-Biden Administration on the invocation of the state secrets privilege,” he wrote in a statement.

“In this vein, I welcome the Department of Justice’s filing today, which commits to conducting a fresh review of documents where the government has previously asserted privileges, and to doing so as quickly as possible,” he added.

The group pressuring Biden is specifically interested in documents regarding whether any of the people associated with al Qaeda who were involved in the deadly attacks received assistance or financing from Saudi Arabia.

It is also eager to learn about information related to an FBI investigation, which was finished in 2016, that looked into potential connections between Saudi Arabia and the 9/11 attacks.

Terry Strada, a member of 9/11 Community United, an organization made up of victims’ families and survivors of the attack, said the group appreciates Biden recognizing the questions surrounding Saudi Arabia’s involvement in the terrorist attacks, but called the administration’s effort a “half-hearted, insufficient commitment to transparency.”

“We appreciate that President Biden recognizes that long-standing questions about the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s involvement in the worst-ever terrorist attack on American soil remain unanswered, but nobody should be fooled by this half-hearted, insufficient commitment to transparency,” Strada said in a statement.

She said the DOJ’s announcement only pertains to a limited subset of “cherry-picked documents” that the FBI already singled out for review.

“It does not address the FBI’s refusal to look for some of the most critical documents needed for true accountability and transparency. This announcement is a necessary but insufficient step towards transparency, accountability and above all, justice,” she added.

Strada also called for the “quick passage” of the 9/11 Transparency Act, which urges the DOJ, Central Intelligence Agency and the Director of National Intelligence to declassify documents that could potentially identify co-conspirators in the attack.

A bipartisan group of senators introduced the legislation last week.

Strada said approval of the legislation will “ensure that the government carries out the full declassification review that is needed for the 9/11 community and the American people.”

Sept. 11 of this year will mark 20 years since the deadly terrorist attacks that led to America’s longest war. The anniversary was also Biden’s initial target date for pulling all U.S. troops out of Afghanistan.

That deadline, however, has since been moved up to Aug. 31.

–Updated at 3:16 p.m.