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Former Sen. Bob Graham pushes for even more disclosure on 9/11 investigations

 
Former Sen. Bob Graham, Wednesday at the National Press Club, says there are still unanswered questions about Sept. 11.
Former Sen. Bob Graham, Wednesday at the National Press Club, says there are still unanswered questions about Sept. 11.
Published Sept. 1, 2016

WASHINGTON — Former Sen. Bob Graham on Wednesday sharply criticized government secrecy over the Sept. 11 attacks, saying the recent release of 28 pages of classified information is merely an opening into what the American public deserves to know.

"This is removing the cork from the bottle," Graham said at the National Press Club. "Unanswered questions still remain largely unanswered," including whether the 19 hijackers acted alone or had support from Saudi Arabia officials while in the United States.

Graham, who strongly believes there is a link, said much of the information released in July involved three hijackers who lived in San Diego, while much more is to be known about the others who lived across the country, primarily in Florida, New Jersey and Virginia.

"There were investigations conducted in each of those and other places which have also been classified and withheld. … If the United States government won't take action in a case as serious and severe as this that was a transitional event in the history of the United States, what else will it take for Saudi Arabia to do before the United States government is involved?"

The 28-page report, kept under tight control for 13 years, identifies people who helped the hijackers, 15 of whom were Saudi nationals, get established in the United States.

Graham, 79, was co-chairman of the congressional inquiry into Sept. 11 and served on the Intelligence Committee. For years he has advocated for more public disclosure and he said Wednesday the government has not done nearly enough.

"The legacy of Barack Obama is going to be stained" when it becomes clear how much material remains hidden from view, Graham said.

In particular, he said, much remains unanswered about a Saudi family that lived in Sarasota and suddenly vanished around the attack. The family had ties to the Venice flight school where two hijackers trained before slamming planes into the World Trade Center.

Graham was a leading figure in getting the 28 pages released, and he credited journalists for helping raise the issue. He described attempts by government officials to hamper his inquiry. "Get a life," he said the deputy director of the FBI once told him.

Graham called on Congress to approve the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act, designed to help families of the nearly 3,000 victims. Having already passed the Senate, the legislation would allow families to sue the Saudi government.

Graham said government attempts to conceal links between the Sept. 11 hijackers and the Saudi government adds to public cynicism.

"We are developing a democracy of spectators who think their role is to sit in the stands and watch the game of democracy, not be a direct participant. I believe our democracy is in trouble until people begin to feel that they have a personal ability to affect change."