Report: ’28 Pages’ of 9/11 Report to Be Released as Early as Friday

After 14 years of secrecy, 28 pages of the Joint Congressional Committee’s 9/11 Report that were redacted during the George W. Bush Administration are expected to be released as early as Friday, CNN has revealed citing their sources.

In 2002, a joint congressional investigation into the September 11, 2001 Islamic terror attacks on the United States produced the 9/11 Report, 28 pages of which the George W. Bush Administration held back as classified. The administration stated that releasing the pages could compromise intelligence sources and methods. CNN indicated that according to its sources there may actually be 29 pages that were withheld as classified. Procedural steps are said to remain before the release can occur.

Though the pages are moving toward release, the sources told CNN that “minimal redactions” will remain. According to the sources this was the version that intelligence agencies, law enforcement, and the State Department reviewed and approved.

Former Senator Bob Graham welcomed the news, telling CNN that the release will “increase the questioning of the Saudis’ role supporting the hijackers.” Graham was chair of the committee that conducted the investigation and has previously indicated that the pages could reveal Saudi support for the 9/11 hijackers.

In June a group of family members and survivors wrote a letter urging President Barack Obama to declassify the pages. 9/11 victim families and survivors have been locked in a fight to sue Saudi Arabia. The lawsuit accuses that Kingdom of supporting al-Qaeda and it’s role in carrying out the terror attacks.

CIA Director John Brennan has been against releasing the pages, while in April U.S. Director of National Intelligence James Clapper called the release a “realistic goal.”

Rep. Adam Schiff assured that the House Intelligence Committee, of which he is a member, will receive the “redacted report” by Friday after which the Senate and House intel committees should officially release the report. Schiff said that the report will be posted online according to CNN.

An attempt to insert a section into the Republican Party platform that would have called for declassification of those 28 pages was defeated in the committee hearing on Tuesday after a former Bush administration advisor moved to strike the proposed text from the platform. The move was defeated on a vote. The text had been added after it passed in the National Security subcommittee of the Platform committee.

Follow Michelle Moons on Twitter @MichelleDiana