Earlier this month, activists with the group “Declassify the 28” had the opportunity to question Ohio Governor John Kasich and Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush regarding their position on the 28 classified pages of the Senate report on the attacks of 9/11.
The 28 pages in question are a portion of the Joint Inquiry into Intelligence Community Activities Before and After the Terrorist Attacks of September 11, 2001 (not the 9/11 Commission Report). Although the final report amounts to over 800 pages, the 28 pages were classified by former President George W. Bush shortly after the report was released in 2002. The 28 pages make up the bulk of a section titled “Part 4: Finding, Discussion and Narrative Regarding Certain Sensitive National Security Matters.”
Truth In Media has followed the saga of the 28 pages for several years. Officials who have seen the documents have stated that the information relates to financing of the suspected terrorists, and points a finger at members of the government of Saudi Arabia. Upon seeing the pages himself, Kentucky Republican Congressman Thomas Massie said there will be “anger, frustration, and embarrassment when these 28 pages finally come out.”
At a recent town hall meeting in Barrington, New Hampshire, Jeb Bush was asked to comment on the pages and whether or not he would fight to declassify information related to 9/11.
Amazingly, Bush responded by saying, “I don’t know what the 28 pages are.” Once the woman explained to Bush what the pages were, he responded by saying, “Look, I can’t commit to something until I see it. Since I don’t have classified information, I can’t tell you what it is or tell you whether it should be declassified.” The woman attempted to continue explaining the relevance of the pages but Bush cut her off and moved on. Watch below:
Jeb Bush’s ignorance is difficult to accept as truth. The Bush family has well-known connections to Saudi Royalty, specifically through the man nicknamed “Bindar Bush”. There are also reports that $1.4 billion was funneled from the Saudi Royal family to institutions connected to the Bush family. Lobbyists from Saudi Arabia have also given extensively to the Jeb Bush presidential campaign, with two different lobbyists giving a combined $15,000 to Bush’s super PAC, and one of them raising another $32,400 for the Bush campaign fund.
Bush was not the only politician to be questioned on the 28 pages while in New Hampshire. Ohio Gov. John Kasich was also asked about the pages at a town hall meeting. “I just want to know if you take the oath of office you will have the guts to get real with Saudi Arabia, and get some prosecutions going here and go after some of the people who were involved,” Eric Jackman asked Kasich.
The governor danced around the 9/11 question and instead gave his opinion on the United States’ relationship with the Saudi Kingdom, stating “Let me tell you my view on Saudi Arabia…I think we have coddled Saudi Arabia for too long.” However, he cautioned, “That doesn’t mean we overthrow the relationship with Saudi Arabia, because they share more things with us than they don’t.”
Despite receiving little attention from the corporate media, the battle over declassification is still being fought by intrepid activists and family members of the victims of the 9/11 attacks. In January, Congressmen Stephen F. Lynch and Walter B. Jones stood with former Senator Bob Graham and families of 9/11 victims as they announced the introduction of a new House Resolution which calls on President Obama to declassify the 28 pages.
The representatives introduced a similar resolution in 2013 and received bipartisan support. Now Jones, Lynch, and Kentucky Representative Thomas Massie are pushing House Resolution 14 which states that “declassification of the pages is necessary to provide the American public with the full truth surrounding the tragic events of September 11, 2001, particularly relating to the involvement of foreign governments.”
Graham has stated that he is convinced the government of Saudi Arabia funded “at least some of the terrorists who carried out the Sept. 11 attacks.” Graham is the former co-chairman of the Joint Congressional Inquiry into the attacks. At the time of the classification he was among 46 senators who signed a letter to Jeb’s brother urging their release. He recently told the New York Times that he was not giving up his pursuit of finding out who was funding the 9/11 attacks.
“NO. 1, I THINK THE AMERICAN PEOPLE DESERVE TO KNOW THE TRUTH OF WHAT HAS HAPPENED IN THEIR NAME. NO. 2 IS JUSTICE FOR THESE FAMILY MEMBERS WHO HAVE SUFFERED SUCH LOSS AND THUS FAR HAVE BEEN FRUSTRATED LARGELY BY THE U.S. GOVERNMENT IN THEIR EFFORTS TO GET SOME COMPENSATION.”
The former Senator also told the Times that several years ago an agent with the FBI told him to give up the investigation and to “get a life.”
“To me, the most simple, unanswered question of 9/11 is, did the 19 hijackers act alone or were they assisted by someone in the United States?” he told the Times.
Saudi Arabia has vehemently denied any connection to the financing of the 9/11 attacks and continues to fight lawsuits from family members of the 9/11 victims.
[RELATED: Upcoming Trial May Reveal Saudi Financing of 9/11 Terrorists]
