25 years later, 9/11 victims hope newly uncovered records will help illuminate Saudis’ alleged role

Families Seek Release of More 9/11 Records as Saudi Arabia Lawsuit Nears Trial

Tyunews.com – As the United States approaches the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, relatives of those killed are urging the federal government to release additional classified material they believe could clarify whether Saudi-linked individuals aided the hijackers.

The request comes as a long-running civil case brought by victims’ families against the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia advances toward trial. Family members contend that recently obtained documents, videos and handwritten materials strengthen their claim that Saudi officials or agents played a deeper role in supporting the attackers than has been publicly acknowledged. Saudi Arabia has repeatedly rejected accusations of involvement.

For many relatives, the effort is not simply about releasing historical records. They see it as a chance to resolve questions that have followed them for decades and to obtain evidence they believe may be central to their legal case.

Pressure on the White House

Brett Eagleson, whose father, Bruce Eagleson, was killed in the South Tower of the World Trade Center, has become one of the leading voices calling for further declassification. He has asked President Donald Trump’s administration to make records available that could shed light on contacts involving Omar al-Bayoumi and two of the men who carried out the hijackings.

“We’ve seen him do it for the [President John F. Kennedy] files. Why not the 9/11 files?”

Eagleson argued that the anniversary creates an important moment for action, noting that Trump has supported releasing other high-profile government records, including files involving alleged UFO activity and political assassinations.

“Now is the moment, 25 years later, to finally bring resolution,” Eagleson said. “And the man that sits in the Oval Office has a historic and a tremendous opportunity to do it.”

Members of New York’s congressional delegation have joined the push. Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, a Republican from New York and a Trump ally, is among bipartisan lawmakers who signed a letter seeking the release of relevant material before the anniversary.

“This is probably one of the better shots that we have at getting this information out there,” Malliotakis said. “And I think that hopefully we’ll see this type of transparency coming from this administration.”

White House spokesperson Anna Kelly said the administration is reviewing the families’ request.

“President Trump is leading the most transparent administration in history, and his team is working diligently to identify records that are responsive to these families’ request.”

Focus on Omar al-Bayoumi

At the center of the families’ allegations is Omar al-Bayoumi, a Saudi national who spent much of the decade before the attacks living in the United States while described as a student. The lawsuit argues that he was connected to Saudi intelligence and gave substantial assistance to two hijackers after they arrived in California in early 2000.

The families maintain that al-Bayoumi helped the men secure an apartment in his residential complex and supplied money in amounts just below the threshold that would typically trigger suspicious-activity reporting. They also allege that he organized a gathering for the hijackers and allowed them to stay at his apartment for one or two days before their own residence was ready.

“He was the man,” Eagleson said. “Omar al-Bayoumi is coordinating and directing logistical and financial support to the hijackers.”

The newly emphasized records include a video made during al-Bayoumi’s 1999 trip to Washington, D.C. In the legal filing, the families characterize the footage as evidence that he was surveying the U.S. Capitol before the attacks. The Capitol is widely believed to have been the intended destination of United Flight 93, which crashed in a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, after passengers resisted the hijackers.

The suit states that the video shows al-Bayoumi discussing security conditions inside and outside the Capitol and drawing attention to the building’s location near Reagan National Airport. Family members view the footage as especially significant because it predates the attacks and appears to focus on a potential target later associated with the hijacking plot.

Questions That Remain Unresolved

Other material cited by the families includes telephone logs said to be connected to al-Bayoumi and to two hijackers, along with a sketch that allegedly contains calculations for directing an aircraft toward a ground target. One relative described the material as “smoking gun evidence.”

Those claims remain central to the civil litigation, which has taken different forms since 2003. The case has faced years of legal challenges, jurisdictional disputes and disputes over access to government information. Its progress has also reflected the unusually difficult task of proving alleged support networks connected to an international terrorist attack while key intelligence and law-enforcement records remain classified.

The families’ campaign highlights a continuing divide between the public’s demand for transparency and the government’s responsibility to protect sensitive intelligence methods, sources and national-security information. Releasing records can help answer longstanding questions, but officials must also determine whether disclosure could compromise intelligence work or reveal information involving foreign governments.

For victims’ relatives, however, the passage of time has only increased the urgency. They argue that records created before and after Sept. 11 should no longer remain unavailable when they may bear on accountability for the deaths of nearly 3,000 people.

Whether more files are declassified could affect both the public understanding of the attacks and the evidence available in court. The families believe that a fuller record may finally establish the extent of any Saudi-linked assistance to the hijackers. Saudi Arabia continues to deny that it had a role in the attacks.