U.S. Intelligence Chief Says Congress Must OK Release Of 28 Pages

intelligence
Director of National Intelligence James Clapper Photo: CNN

In a development that could delay the release of 28 classified pages from Congress’s report about Saudi Arabia’s role in 9/11, the head of the nation’s intelligence community has told a delegation seeking their release that the ultimate decision about whether to make those pages public would be made by Congress.

Former Sen. Bob Graham recounted Tuesday evening’s hour-long meeting with Director of National Intelligence James Clapper in an interview with FloridaBulldog.org.

“He described himself as being a proponent of transparency and would be forward-leaning on the release of the 28 pages,” said Graham. “The surprise we heard was that after the president makes the decision about whether or not to release them, and if so in what form, they’ll send it back to Congress.”

Graham, who co-chaired Congress’s Joint Inquiry into 9/11 in 2002, said the idea of adding Congress to the declassification mix is new. “I’ve talked with numerous people in the White House and they’ve never suggested that anyone other than the president would make the decision to release. I don’t know where Clapper got this idea, and I hope it’s not just another stalling tactic.”

[vc_btn title=”More on the 28 Pages” style=”outline” color=”primary” size=”lg” align=”left” link=”url:http%3A%2F%2Fwww.floridabulldog.org%2F2016%2F05%2F12668%2F|title:More%20on%20the%2028%20Pages|target:%20_blank”][vc_message message_box_color=”turquoise”]By Dan Christensen, FloridaBulldog.org, Special to SouthFloridaReporter.com May 19, 2016 [/vc_message][vc_message message_box_color=”green”]Related Stories[/vc_message]