In the wake of major headlines
about the censored 28-page finding on foreign government support of the
9/11 hijackers and claims by “20th hijacker” Zacarias Moussaoui
of Saudi Arabia’s direct support of al Qaeda, the House resolution
urging the president to declassify the 28 pages gained five cosponsors
in just three days this week. Congressman Peter Welch
With this week’s haul, House Resolution 14
now has 11 cosponsors. Peter Welch, a Democrat and Vermont’s sole
representative in the House, is joining the 28 pages movement for the
first time, while the other four had been cosponsors of the
identically-worded resolution in the previous Congress. They are Mark
Sanford (R, SC-1), Collin Peterson (D, MN-7), Lloyd Doggett (D, TX-35)
and John “Jimmy” Duncan (D, TN-2). Congressman Mike Capuano
Last week, Mike Capuano (D, MA-1) also became a 28 pages cosponsor for the first time, telling The Boston Globe
that “so many questions have been raised over the years about the
contents of the 28 pages and what they reveal about the September 11th
terrorist attacks. I think the public has a right to that information
and in the interest of transparency, they should be declassified.”
Meanwhile, Congressman Walter Jones—who introduced H.Res.14—told The Hill’s Molly Hooper that
Michael Burgess (R, TX-26) recently secured permission from the House
intelligence committee to read the 28 pages and will do so when Congress
returns from its break.
Jones summed up the overall strategy: “What we are trying to do is
put the pressure on the White House by building the number of cosponsors
in the House.” He also said he’s still working to identify a champion
in the upper chamber to join him in the campaign to release the 28
pages. “I have reached out to several senators. I am hoping to talk to
Senator Rand Paul today to put in the same resolution in the Senate,”
said Jones.
