U.S. Rep. Stephen F. Lynch said it’s “an embarrassment” the full story of 9/11 has not been told all these years later — including possible terrorist links to Saudi Arabia, as a lingering federal lawsuit brought by the victims’ families alleges.
“We still don’t have the complete story on the weeks and months of preparation by the hijackers,” Lynch told the Herald yesterday. “We owe it to the families … transparency and truth is the best way to deal with this.”
Fifteen of the 19 hijackers who attacked America 14 years ago today using commercial jets came from Saudi Arabia.
Lynch is pushing legislation to declassify 28 pages from the U.S. Senate report on the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks that reportedly deal with Saudi Arabia’s role in the plot.
The South Boston Democrat, who has read every redacted page, said he is forbidden to divulge the contents.
But, he added, “the documents speak for themselves” and he’s urging his colleagues to read them.
“It’s an embarrassment it’s not been made public, especially with their impact on (9/11) families,” he said, adding GOP presidential candidate Rand Paul has recently joined in his call to release the pages.
President Obama has reportedly told 9/11 families that he wants the documents released, but Lynch said he has not heard from the White House on the matter.
Lynch is making his push as victims’ families continue their crusade for truth and compensation. Their suit alleges that Saudi Arabia bankrolled the terror plot that killed nearly 3,000 and says the Middle East power should compensate families for their loss.
“The Saudis provided the key financial support through charities, and then Saudi officials met a couple of the hijackers and got them their apartments, some English classes, flight school and made sure they could sit tight and not get caught before 9/11,” said James ?Kreindler, a lead attorney in the lawsuit since 2002.
The case took a dramatic turn recently after Zacarias Moussaoui, who was sentenced to life in prison for his role in the attacks, testified that al-Qaeda received donations from Saudi Arabian royalty, The Associated Press reported.
Saudi officials rejected those claims. An attorney representing the Saudi Arabian government did not return multiple requests for comment yesterday.
In court filings, Saudi Arabia has said it is immune from suit in the United States. Kreindler said the case against Saudi Arabia has been building since 2002, as more documents and evidence have been released. It has been a knock-down, drag-out battle, and Kreindler told his clients that they would be in for the long haul once they filed suit.
“When the families came in after 9/11, I said, ‘Be prepared for this to take 15 years or longer,’ ” Kreindler said. “That’s the nature of the beast here.”
Don Migliori, also a lawyer in the case, said the suit “is a marathon, not a sprint, and it may be a mega-marathon.” He also said 9/11 families deserve to see all the missing pages in the Senate report.
Lynch said he has bipartisan support, including 16 co-sponsors of his bill to make the 28 pages public.
“If Stephen Lynch thinks something should be revealed, it should be,” said Christie Coombs of Abington, who lost her husband, Jeffrey, when Flight 11 crashed into the World Trade Center. “If it’s not breaking national security, then we should see what’s in those papers.”
