F.B.I. Releases Newly Declassified Document Related to Sept. 11 Attacks

Politics|F.B.I. Releases Newly Declassified Document Related to Sept. 11 Attacks

WASHINGTON — The Biden medication released a recently declassified papers precocious Saturday describing connections the F.B.I. examined betwixt the hijackers and the Saudi authorities successful the years since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, though it contained nary conclusive grounds astir whether the kingdom played a relation successful the attacks.

The 16-page report, which was issued hours aft President Biden arrived astatine the World Trade Center memorial successful Lower Manhattan, is the archetypal papers to beryllium released since the president past week moved to declassify materials that for years person remained secret.

Families of the Sept. 11 victims person agelong pushed for a deeper probe into immoderate imaginable relation the Saudi authorities had successful the attacks. Mr. Biden instructed the Justice Department and national agencies successful caller days to merchandise declassified documents implicit the adjacent six months aft a radical of hundreds of affected radical — including survivors, exigency aesculapian workers and victims’ relatives — told him to skip the memorial lawsuit astatine crushed zero this twelvemonth if helium did not determination to disclose immoderate of those documents.

Some members of the committee that investigated the 2001 attacks believed that if the Saudi authorities had immoderate relation successful the plot, it was apt to person progressive consular officials.

But the papers released connected Saturday provided nary caller conclusive grounds astir the Saudi government’s role.

Speculation astir the imaginable Saudi relation accrued implicit the years due to the fact that of the government’s refusal to declassify 28 pages of a 2002 legislature enquiry into the Sept. 11 attacks that specifically addressed imaginable connections betwixt the kingdom and the violent plot.

The papers was yet released successful 2016, and it elaborate galore suspicious meetings betwixt Saudi officials and the Sept. 11 hijackers, and checks from Saudi royals to operatives successful interaction with the hijackers. It was besides an unflattering representation of the kingdom’s efforts to thwart American operations against Al Qaeda successful the years earlier the attacks.

The question of whether immoderate Saudi officials played a relation successful the Sept. 11 crippled has festered for 2 decades contempt galore investigations into the attacks.

The Saudi authorities has agelong denied immoderate involvement. Its embassy successful Washington issued a connection this week saying “any allegation that Saudi Arabia is complicit successful the Sept. 11 attacks is categorically false.”

In its 2004 last report, the Sept. 11 Commission said it had recovered nary grounds that the “Saudi authorities arsenic an institution, oregon elder Saudi officials individually funded” Al Qaeda. But immoderate erstwhile committee unit members person pointed retired that the cautious wording of the study did not regularisation retired the anticipation that lower-ranking Saudi officials had helped the hijackers. They besides said that the commission, operating nether utmost clip pressure, could not tally each pb to ground.