After an executive order from President Joe Biden, the FBI revealed its first document connected to its 9/11 investigation on Saturday night, and the topic is accusations of the Saudi government backing the terrorists.
Within hours of President Biden’s arrival to the World Trade Center memorial in Lower Manhattan, the White House produced a 16-page report, which is the first document to be published since the president last week began declassifying materials that had been kept secret for years.
An extensively redacted document, which was composed in November 2015, details an interview with a Saudi national named PII, who was asking for U.S. citizenship. He told his stories about his time working at the country’s consulate in Los Angeles, where he went into great detail about his job responsibilities. Additionally, the paper describes his communication with individuals who authorities claim had supported two of the hijackers with “crucial logistical aid.”
The Saudi government has maintained its denial of involvement in the terrorist acts. When contacted outside of normal business hours on Saturday, the Saudi embassy in Washington did not answer.
According to a statement from the embassy on September 8th, Saudi Arabia has always promoted the need for transparency in the wake of the September 11th, 2001, attacks, and it welcomes the release of documents by the United States pertaining to the attacks.
The Sept. 11 Commission concluded that it found no proof that “the Saudi government as an institution or senior Saudi officials individually funded” Al Qaeda, as they reported in their final 2004 report. However, it should be noted that the report’s language was not definitive, leaving open the possibility that lower-level Saudi officials had aided the hijackers. They said that the panel was functioning under tremendous time constraints and hence could not follow up on every lead.