Twenty-eight long-classified pages from a congressional report on the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks could be released to the public as early as Friday, according to media reports.
Both the Bush and Obama administrations have withheld the 28 pages of a congressional investigation into the attacks for unknown reasons, although there has long been widespread speculation that the documents have stayed classified because they show that the government of Saudi Arabia–a long-time U.S. ally—was involved.
Fifteen of the nineteen hijackers were Saudi citizens, which some critics say is evidence of the government’s support for jihadist groups. Many experts believe that individual Saudi officials helped finance the attack and the terrorists’ training but that there was no involvement by the most senior Saudi decision makers or the government as a whole.
The Saudi government is now calling for the pages to be released to clear itself of wrongdoing and to have the opportunity to respond to allegations. Riyadh has long said that accusations of its complicity in the 9/11 attacks are unfounded and false.
There has been high demand for the pages to be released to the public, with the families of 9/11 victims pushing hard for them to be declassified. Members of Congress are also leading the effort, including Rep. Adam Schiff (D., Calif.). Schiff believes the documents will probably be released by Congress, although he said it is not certain who would formally do it.
It is unclear how many of the released pages will be redacted. Intelligence agencies, law enforcement and the State Department have approved the pages to be released with "minimal redactions," according to CNN. Schiff said Thursday that he expects Congress to get a redacted version of the documents the same day or Friday.
Some intelligence officials, including CIA Director John Brennan, have argued against the pages being made public, saying they are filled with inaccuracies.