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The Justice Department’s filing comes less than a week after more than 1,600 people affected by the 9/11 attacks issued a letter calling on President Joe Biden to refrain from traveling to Ground Zero in New York City to mark the anniversary of the event unless it releases additional documents and information that the government has previously blocked.
A spokesperson for the Department of Justice said Monday that the government informed a Manhattan federal court that the FBI had recently closed an investigation into certain 9/11 hijackers.
“Although this development followed United States District Court decisions upholding the government’s claims of privilege, the FBI has decided to revisit its previous claims of privilege to identify additional information appropriate for disclosure. The FBI will release. this information on an ongoing basis as quickly as possible, ”the spokesperson said.
Biden released a statement praising the Justice Department’s move, saying it follows through on its campaign pledge to make the department work to release the 9/11 files.
“As I promised during my campaign, my administration is committed to ensuring maximum transparency under the law and to adhere to the stringent guidelines issued under the Obama-Biden administration on invoking the privilege of secrecy. of state, ”Biden said in the statement. “In this vein, I welcome the tabling of the Department of Justice today, which commits to re-examine documents for which the government has previously claimed privileges, and to do so as quickly as possible. “
“My heart and prayers continue to be with the families of 9/11 who are suffering, and my administration will continue to respectfully engage with members of this community. I salute their voices and ideas as we chart a course forward. “, he added.
Brett Eagleson, who lost his father on 9/11 and is an advocate for many families of victims killed in the attacks, criticized the Justice Department’s case, saying it does not go far enough towards full transparency.
“The DOJ / FBI has already had three years to ‘review’ the files and can act immediately to produce the documents, including the 2016 FBI Examination Report unredacted from the office’s multi-year investigation of the agents of the Saudi government who “are known to have provided substantive information. assistance to hijackers, as well as phone records and witness statements, ”Eagleson said.
“Even today, the DOJ finally admitted that its investigation was in fact closed, contrary to the office’s earlier claims regarding investigator status. We hope that the Biden administration will now come forward to provide the information the community of the September 11 has been waiting to receive for 20 years, so we can stand with the President at Ground Zero on September 11. ”
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