President Donald Trump has said he will review the 9/11 Saudi records request from victim families after being approached on the matter during his weekend trip to Ireland.
‘I’m going to look at it when I get back,’ Trump said just before boarding Air Force One on Sunday. ‘I know they asked me Friday.’
The families are pressing Trump to declassify and release documents they believe could shed light on Saudi Arabia’s alleged role in the September 11 attacks. Fifteen of the 19 hijackers were Saudi nationals. The Saudi government has long denied any involvement.
Families accuse Saudi Arabia of ‘lying’ over 9/11 Saudi records request
Terry Strada, national chair of 9/11 Families United, called on Trump at Friday’s remembrance ceremony in New York City to ‘tell the Saudis to stop lying.’
Strada, who lost her husband Tom on 9/11, said past US presidents had chosen ‘to protect the Saudis instead of standing with the 9/11 families.’
She was among the family members who read aloud the names of victims at this year’s remembrance. According to ABC News, Strada serves as the national chair of 9/11 Families United, which has led the campaign for declassification.
‘It has been one betrayal after another,’ Strada said. ‘President Trump can still change that.’
She urged the current administration to ‘stand with the families, stand with the survivors.’
Legal battle against Saudi Arabia continues
The families have been engaged in a lengthy legal battle against Saudi Arabia over its alleged role in the attacks. Several have long alleged that a group of extremist religious leaders gained influence within the Saudi government and aided the hijackers.
The Saudi Embassy in Washington has consistently denied that the Saudi government played any part in the attacks.
The families’ push for the 9/11 Saudi records request to be acted upon has intensified in recent years, with campaigners arguing that declassified documents held by US intelligence agencies could prove decisive in their civil litigation.
Trump made his comments on the matter before departing Ireland, where he had spent the weekend, without committing to a timeline for any decision on releasing the records.
Strada’s group has framed the 9/11 Saudi records request as a test of whether Trump will break from the pattern of previous administrations. ‘President Trump can still change that,’ she said at the Friday ceremony, adding that the families expected action, not assurances.
Trump is due back at the White House following the Ireland trip, at which point he indicated he would give the matter consideration.
