Former senator blasts CIA chief over secret 9/11 pages

A former senator and ex-chairman of the Intelligence Committee is blasting CIA Director John Brennan over his resistance to releasing 28 missing pages from a congressional report into the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.  

Former Sen. Bob Graham (D-Fla.), an author of the report who has been the most vocal supporter of releasing the classified pages, focused on Brennan’s claim that the pages contain “inaccurate” information.

{mosads}“With all due respect, that argument is an affront not only to the American public in general but also to all those who lost family members, loved ones and friends on that fateful September day in 2001,” Graham wrote in an op-ed in The Washington Post Wednesday evening. “Americans are fully capable of reviewing the 28 pages and making up their own minds about their significance.”

He asked: “What is the investigatory basis for his conclusion?”

Graham’s criticism comes as part of a recent upswing in momentum for those trying to bring the 28 pages out into the open.  

In April, Graham received a call from the White House saying President Obama “would make a decision about the 28 pages no later than June,” he wrote.

National Intelligence Director James Clapper told reporters last month that the timeframe “is certainly a realistic goal.”

However, the warnings from Brennan could weigh heavily on the White House and spark concern from people who want to make the pages public.

The 28 pages are believed to contain evidence that senior Saudi Arabian government officials helped funnel money or support to al Qaeda ahead of the 9/11 attacks.

In an appearance on NBC’s “Meet the Press” early this month, Brennan warned against reading too much into them.

“I think there’s a combination of things that are accurate and inaccurate [in the report],” Brennan said.

The 9/11 Commission produced its own separate report about the attacks, he added, and “came out with a very clear judgment that there was no evidence that … Saudi government as an institution or Saudi officials or individuals had provided financial support to al Qaeda.”