United States President Joe Biden has directed federal agencies, including the Department of Justice, to declassify documents related to the 9/11 attacks after carrying out a review, according to US media reports.

In case any relevant documents pop up in the archives of the federal agencies of the United States that can be released for public knowledge, the executive order signed by Biden on Friday will assist the declassification.

In a statement released on Friday from the White House, Biden wrote that “the executive order requires the Attorney General to release the declassified documents publicly over the next six months”, according to reports from CNN.

The statement added, “My heart continues to be with the 9/11 families who are suffering, and my Administration will continue to engage respectfully with members of this community. I welcome their voices and insight as we chart a way forward.”

Friday’s announcement comes nearly a month after Biden faced heat from nearly 1,600 people who signed a joint letter asking Biden to not come to New York City on September 11 this year unless he would pass an order that would allow federal agencies to disclose information that was previously withheld.

The 1,600 people mainly consisted of those who were directly impacted by the terror attack of September 11, 2001, that killed thousands of people.

In a statement in August, when the uproar of restricting Biden to come to New York was underway, the President said. “As I promised during my campaign, my Administration is committed to ensuring the maximum degree of transparency under the law, and to adhering to the rigorous guidance issued during the Obama-Biden Administration on the invocation of the state secrets privilege”, according to reports from CNN.

The move has been appreciated by United States lawmakers too, most of them being from the Democratic party.

Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer wrote in a tweet, ”

Thank you to President Biden for taking this step to declassify documents related to 9/11. I’ve been pushing to declassify these documents for 20 years for the families of the victims, for the survivors, for the first responders, and more.”