Representatives Walter Jones (R., N.C.) and Stephen Lynch (D., Mass.) are pushing legislation to urge the president to declassify a portion of a heavily-redacted joint inquiry into the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Specifically, the congressmen want to declassify 28 pages of the report, which former senator Bob Graham (D., Fla.), who helped develop the report more than a decade ago, says show wrongdoing on the part of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
“The 28 pages primarily relate to who financed 9/11 and they point a very strong finger at Saudi Arabia as being the principal financier,” Graham said at a press conference on Wednesday. “The Saudis know what they did. They are not persons who are unaware of the consequences of their government’s action.”
The information was first withheld by the Bush administration because of concerns about how it would impact the War on Terror, and the Obama administration has continued to keep the information hidden. Jones reviewed the information and says he does not think release of the information would harm national security. “I do not know why, after I read these 28 pages, why there is anyone that is reluctant to release these 28 pages,” Jones says. “I do not understand how you can have a strong foreign policy while you are trying to hide the truth from the American people.”
The congressmen explained that they hope former senator Graham can help convince the Senate to take up their cause, and Jones says the effort has faced difficulty getting the support of other congressmen who have not personally examined the redacted pages. Legislation urging the president to declassify the report was put forward approximately twelve months ago, but could fare better in the new Congress where members may be more likely to take the president head on.