The FBI released hundreds of pages of newly declassified documents Wednesday about its long effort to explore connections between the Saudi government and the Sept. 11 attacks.
The documents were the latest materials to be released under an executive order from President Joe Biden aimed at making public long-classified investigative reports related to the attacks.
Read more: 9/11: New Declassified Records Released by FBI
A special investigation report was released on the 20th anniversary of the September attacks after relatives of the victims have long sought records after a lawsuit was filed in federal court in New York to prove that the Saudi government cooperated in the attacks.
The U.S. government investigations over the past two decades have documented support given by Saudi government officials to several of the hijackers upon their arrival in the U.S., but have not produced clear evidence that senior government leaders helped plot the attacks.
Read more: Possible ISIS threat in the USA: Police To Monitor Northern Virginia Malls
In the FBI memo closing out the investigation, it says the bureau “has not identified additional groups or individuals responsible for the attack other than those currently charged.”
On Wednesday, Saudi Arabia welcomed the release of classified documents related to the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, which killed almost 3,000 people in the US.
However, Riyadh vehemently rejected any allegations that Saudi Arabia was complicit in the attacks, according to a statement by the Saudi Embassy in Washington.
Read more: Massacred Victims’ Families Given $88M By US Government
“Any allegation that Saudi Arabia is complicit in the September 11 attacks is categorically false,” the statement read. “As the administrations of the past four US presidents have attested, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has unwaveringly condemned and denounced the deplorable crimes that took place against the United States, its close ally and partner.”
However, the documents reveal years of efforts by the FBI to hunt for possible involvement by the Saudi government and to examine the support provided by Saudi citizens in the US for the first two hijackers to arrive in the US, Nawaf al-Hajmi and Khalid al-Mihdar.
Read more: Florida Woman Calling for a ‘Mass Exodus’ Amidst Racial Violence in Public Schools
Despite this, Saudi Arabia reiterated its support for the full declassification of any documents relating to the investigation of the attacks, “with the hope that a full release of these documents will end the baseless allegations against the Kingdom once and for all.”
Stay updated with more news here at the East County Gazette.
