Judge: Sept. 11 records will likely remain sealed for now

A Manhattan judge considering whether to unseal approximately one million pages of documents related to the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks said yesterday that he will likely deny requests for public access, Reuters reports.  

The documents come from lawsuits the families of some Sept. 11 victims brought against airlines and aviation security companies. Victims’ families, The New York Times and the Reporters Committee asked U.S. District Court Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein to release the records to the public, arguing that they likely contain new information regarding security failures that led to the attacks.

Attorneys for airlines and security contractors argued against releasing the documents now, claiming that doing so would delay the trial.  

According the Reuters, “Hellerstein did not make an immediate decision, but said he would likely rule against the families because sorting through so many documents would delay a civil trial.” The wire service quoted Hellerstein as saying, “My goal is to move these cases to trial,” adding that if the case does indeed go to trial “the history of what led to 9/11 may come out to some degree, or maybe it won’t.”