Son of 9/11 victim urges Trump to declassify remaining documents
As a federal judge has ruled that families of 9/11 victims can depose Saudi Arabian officials in a lawsuit against that country, Brett Eagleson, whose father was killed in the terrorist attacks, is urging President Trump to share with them the files that remain classified but could point to a possible Saudi link.
Speaking on Fox News, Eagleson thanked President Trump for having him at the White House last year. “You’re the first president that’s ever done that, by the way,” he said, after expressing hope that Trump would watch the news clip.
“I shook your hand and looked you in the eye … We told you everything that we were going through and you said to us, Mr. President, ‘Keep going. Hit’em hard; I’m behind you,” Eagleson continued.
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“We did just what you said. … We are ‘David’ and we have ‘Goliath’ on the ropes,” he added, referring to the decision by a federal magistrate in New York.
The order was filed last month but unsealed Thursday, a day before the 19th anniversary of the attacks, according to ABC News, which quoted the plaintiffs’ attorney, James Kreindler, as saying, “This is the most important thing to happen other than JASTA (Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act) being passed letting us sue Saudi Arabia. We now get a chance to move up the totem pole of Saudi officials. We can begin unraveling the entire plot of Saudi officials working with al-Qaeda to commit mass murder."
Referring to Trump, Eagleson added, “We need your help one last time. … Declassify these remaining documents, and I promise you, you’ll be a hero not only to the 9/11 families but to all of America for exposing the swamp for what it is.”
He further explained that former Presidents Bush and Obama “gave us no help.”
“They actually hindered us,” he said, pointing out that Obama vetoed JASTA.
Eagleson said Trump is “our last hope.”
“Make the Saudis see the light,” he said, adding that since Saudi Arabia wants to have good relations with the United States they must let this be a turning point in relations.
Recently, 3,361 survivors of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and families of those who died wrote to Attorney General William Barr, urging that the remaining files be declassified so that it could be disclosed whether Saudi Arabian officials had a role in the 9/11 attacks.
“We recently learned that the FBI has turned over an estimated 20,000 to 25,000 pages of U.S. government documents to the defense attorneys representing the 9/11 terrorists being held at Guantanamo Bay,” the letter reads. “One of these terrorists is the architect of the 9/11 plot, Khalid Sheikh Mohamed. These same documents, however, were intentionally withheld by the DOJ and FBI from thousands of 9/11 families for use in our federal lawsuit against the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia regarding its complicity in the attacks.”
