Seventy-two members of Congress have requested to review the secret 28 pages of the 9/11 report since the new term began last year — and more are expected as the Obama administration considers whether to make the documents public.
"For many of these members of Congress, it might be a little bit like being caught not doing their homework and now rushing to get that required reading done," Brian McGlinchey, an activist who has lobbied for the documents to be released, told
The Hill.
The 72 figure is nearly three times the requests from congressional members to review the pages in 2013 and 2014, according to the House Intelligence Committee, which approves the requests.
For both years, the committee received a total of about 25 requests, the Hill reports.
More requests have come since "60 Minutes" aired a report on them last month on CBS, committee staffers told the Hill.
The report alleges that the pages contain details of support from senior Saudi Arabian officials for al-Qaida before the 2001 terror attacks.
Fifteen of the 19 hijackers were Saudi nationals, and allegations of support among top Saudi officials have long been rumored.
The Saudi government has denied any involvement in 9/11 — and it has called on the Obama administration to declassify the 28 pages to end any speculation, according to the Hill.
"We want a complete release of this information," McGlinchey said, "and if there’s anything controversial or anything that has been ruled to be not accurate in these pages, the government would be free to issue an accompanying commentary or rebuttal to help explain away anything that they think might be misinterpreted."
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