by Dan Christensen at Florida Bulldog
The Justice Department has notified a federal judge in New York that within days it expects to release another 1,000 pages of declassified FBI documents about Operation Encore, the bureau’s sub rosa investigation of possible Saudi government complicity in 9/11.
The release of those records will be in response to President Biden’s September executive order mandating a sweeping declassification review of “certain documents concerning the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.” To date, more than 700 FBI documents have been released totaling more than 2,700 pages.
Biden’s order effectively overturned a 2020 decision by Trump administration Attorney General William Barr to invoke the rarely used state secrets privilege to keep records about Operation Encore hidden from the public.
Thursday’s notification letter to U.S. Magistrate Judge Sarah Netburn from the New York U.S. Attorney who is overseeing the government’s participation in the extensive civil lawsuit brought against Saudi Arabia by 9/11 victims also states, “It is anticipated that there may be further releases of information into mid-April, due to continuing coordination with a number of foreign governments and ongoing interagency review.”
In addition, because records produced publicly will contain redactions required by the Privacy Act, the FBI will create separate sets of documents that remove those redactions for use by lawyers for the 9/11 families and victims.