Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul has joined a group of lawmakers pushing for the release of 28 controversial pages of the 9/11 Commission Report that have been classified since the report’s release in 2004, according to the
Daily Beast.
Paul, a libertarian seeking the Republican nomination for president, is "a big catch for the 28 pages movement," according to the publication.
Paul is teaming with Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden, a Democrat, to co-sponsor legislation — the "Transparency for the Families of 9/11 Victims Act" — demanding that the Obama administration declassify the 28 pages which purportedly implicate Saudi Arabia as having assisted in financing the terror attack.
Families of 9/11 victims have long advocated for the declassification along with a smattering of legislators who have worked diligently over the years, but thus far without success.
Former Florida Sen. Bob Graham, who chaired the Senate Intelligence Committee in 2002, led the inquiry into the terror attack and helped draft the 28 pages in question, according to the Daily Beast. For years Graham has been "banging the drum" for the remaining 28 pages to be publicly released. They are the only pages of the report still withheld from public view.
"Without violating his oath of secrecy about specifics, the Democrat has been quite outspoken, saying the redacted pages 'point a very strong finger at Saudi Arabia as being the principal financier' of the 9/11 attacks, according to the Daily Beast. "He has also said the U.S. government’s protective stance toward the Saudis allows them to continue spreading the extreme Wahhabi version of Islam that has led to the rise of ISIS."
Graham and Paul were to appear at a press conference Tuesday morning to bring attention to Paul’s proposed legislation.
President George W. Bush ordered that the 28 pages be classified when the rest of the report was released in December 2002. And despite repeated promises by President Barack Obama to declassify the documents, he has so far failed to do so.
North Carolina Rep. Walter B. Jones, an anti-war Republican, wrote the president nearly a year ago reminding him of his promise, according to the Daily Beast.
"And he hasn’t kept his word," Jones said.
The New York Times reported earlier this year that those who support the release of the section, titled "Finding, Discussion and Narrative Regarding Certain National Security Matters," suggest that the Bush and Obama administrations "have held it back for fear of alienating an influential military and economic partner rather than for any national security consideration."
CNN reported in February that the 28 pages "focus on the role of foreign governments in the plot."
Zacarias Moussaoui — sometimes referred to as "the 20th hijacker" — maintains that Osama bin Laden directed him to create a digital database of the terror group’s donors, which included members of the Saudi royal family, according to CNN.
"He also claims to have met with members of the royal family in Saudi Arabia and hand delivered letters from bin Laden," the network reported.
The Saudi embassy in Washington has denied Moussaoui’s claims and said there’s no evidence to support it.
Only members of Congress with a security clearance are permitted to read the 28 pages "in a secure room in the basement of the U.S. Capitol after first writing to the chairman and the ranking member of the Intelligence Committee for permission," according to CNN.
"Members can’t take notes or bring a staffer, and only a small number of lawmakers take the opportunity."