Classified 9/11 material will get reviewed for possible release under Biden order signed Friday
Sept. 11, 2001, attacks for possible release of sensitive new information – meeting a key demand of victims’ families ahead of next week’s 20-year anniversary.
“Information may remain classified only if it still requires protection in the interest of the national security and disclosure of the information reasonably could be expected to result in damage to the national security,” the executive order states.
“Information shall not remain classified if there is significant doubt about the need to maintain its classified status. Nor shall information remain classified in order to conceal violations of law, inefficiency, or administrative error or to prevent embarrassment to a person, organization, or agency.”
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Relatives of Americans who were killed on 9/11 have spent years pushing successive administrations to release classified information that they believe will reveal Saudi Arabia’s complicity in the attacks, which killed nearly 3,000 people. Some had even said they did not want Biden to attend any memorial events unless he moved to release the long-sought documents.
“It is reprehensible that nearly 20 years after the brutal attack on our country, our federal government continues to prioritize its relationship with the kingdom over justice for Americans,” Terry Strada, whose husband died in the World Trade Center’s North Tower, wrote in a recent op-ed for USA TODAY.