FBI Releases First Declassified 9/11 Document Following Biden Executive Order

The FBI released the first declassified document pertaining to the 9/11 terrorist attacks. While a large portion of the 16-page report released on Saturday night remains heavily redacted, it unveils the FBI's investigation of a Saudi consular official and a suspected Saudi intelligence agent in Los Angeles who might have provided "significant logistical support" to the first plane hijackers arriving in the US. While the FBI document describes multiple conversations and phone calls, the Commission could not confidently link the Saudi men to the hijackers. Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan reaffirmed on Sunday that his country has been advocating for the release of these documents for over a decade, claiming they "would completely show that there was no (Saudi) involvement." 9/11 Families United, an organization that serves thousands of families and survivors of the terrorist attacks, said in a statement that they believe the document "puts to bed any doubts about Saudi complicity in the attacks." After the group persistently pressured the White House to declassify the documents, Biden signed an executive order that ordered the Justice Department to make some files available to the public.

Coverage was consistent across the spectrum as most outlets highlighted how the report did not include enough evidence to prove that senior Saudi government officials were involved in the 9/11 attacks. Some right-rated outlets emphasized how the Biden administration "didn’t seek any punishment" against Saudi Arabia’s crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, after a US intelligence report found that he directly approved the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.