A federal judge will soon decide whether lawsuits brought against Saudi Arabia by the families of the victims of the September 11 terrorist attack will be allowed to move forward.



Judge George Daniels of the Southern District of New York is overseeing the dispute, which originated in 2003 when the <a href="https://www.floridabulldog.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Redacted-Brief.pdf">families</a> filed suit against the Saudis for making the attacks possible. More recently new evidence has emerged that, the families claim, a Saudi national who provided logistical support to the hijackers, Omar al-Bayoumi, was a Saudi government asset.



The families, along with insurers and other plaintiffs, contend that without the “material support and resources provided” by Saudi Arabia, among other countries, individuals, and organizations, Al Qaeda “would not have possessed the financial resources, physical assets, membership base, technological knowledge,” and other advantages “required to conceive, plan and execute the September 11th Attack.”



The damages sought in the lawsuit by the 9/11 victims’ families run to tens of billions of dollars.



Saudi Arabia, for its part, denies any responsibility for the September 11 attacks. Lawyers for the kingdom note that the 9/11 Commission “has definitively concluded that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia had no role in perpetrating the attacks.”&nbsp; The kingdom also claims it “did not provide financial or material assistance to the September 11 terrorists or their Al-Qaeda organization.”



Saudi Arabia also claims immunity from the families’ claims under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act of 1976.



The legal dispute has been going on for more than 20 years, but recent findings are raising new questions over Saudi Arabia’s responsibility for the attacks.



Recently unsealed court records show that Mr. al-Bayoumi was responsible for a video casing the Capitol, one of the suspected targets of the attacks,&nbsp; in 1999, when the attacks were being planned.



The video included views of security and entrances and exits from the Capitol, among other details.



Ahead of the hearing on Wednesday, the Saudi Arabian government filed a motion to dismiss the case. The Saudis maintain that the video in the filing is nothing more than a tourist’s video of Washington D.C.



“We’re no longer searching for words of ‘you’re in our thoughts and prayers.’ We’re no longer looking for to be coddled or comforted. We stand here pissed off,”&nbsp; the president of 9/11 Justice, Brett Eagleson, said earlier this month about the lawsuit. “And our government has failed to bring us accountability, closure and justice.”



While the Saudi government did not “knowingly” support the 9/11 terrorists, a joint FBI and CIA <a href="https://www.dni.gov/files/documents/Newsroom/Executive_Summary_of_Joint_FBI-CIA_Report_on_Extent_of_Saudi_Government_Support_for_Terrorism.pdf">report</a> found in 2005, there was “evidence that official Saudi entities” as well as “associated nongovernmental organizations” did “provide financial and logistical support to individuals” in America and around the world, “some of who are associated with terrorism-related activity.”



The Saudi government, along with “many of its agencies,” the FBI and CIA determined, had also “been infiltrated and exploited by individuals associated with or sympathetic to” Al Qaeda.



The 9/11 families have called on politicians, including President Biden and President Trump, to address the new evidence against Saudi Arabia, but so far neither has done so.



“These two candidates for president knew about the existence of this video, and neither one of them had the courage to stand with the 9/11 families and address this issue,” Mr. Eagleson said, prior to Mr. Biden dropping out of the race.



Presidents since 9/11 have generally “sought to shield Saudi Arabia from U.S. lawsuits,” CNN <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2021/09/08/politics/september-11-lawsuit-saudi-arabia-what-matters/index.html">reports</a>, “citing the need for national security and to protect Americans from retaliatory lawsuits.”

First responders work at ground zero at New York City the day after the September 11, 2001, attacks.

New Claims of Saudi Role in 9/11 Bring Victims’ Families Back to Court in Lawsuit Against Riyadh

The families claim that a Saudi national who provided logistical support to the hijackers, Omar al-Bayoumi, was a government asset.

New Claims of Saudi Role in 9/11 Bring Victims' Families Back to Court in Lawsuit Against Riyadh | The New York Sun

Home

New Claims of Saudi Role in 9/11 Bring Victims&#8217; Families Back to Court in Lawsuit Against Riyadh

The New York Sun

https://wp.nysun.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/the-new-york-sun-og.jpg

The governor of Texas, Greg Abbott.

Abbott Says Texas Has Halted Construction of Planned Muslim Community Amid State and Federal Investigations

President Trump with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman  at the Royal Terminal of King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, May 13, 2025.(

Trump Announces End to Sanctions on Syria in Order To Give New Regime ‘a Chance at Greatness’

Sean Diddy Combs, left, stands as his defense attorney, Teny Geragos, gives her opening statement to the jury on the first day of trial in Manhattan federal court, Monday, May 12, 2025, in New York.

‘Don’t Tell Nobody’: Witnesses in Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Trial Describe Music Mogul’s Secret, Sordid World of Violence, Prostitutes, and Baby Oil 

People gather at the Corniche promenade as Doha, Qatar's skyline is seen in the background.

Exclusive: Trump’s Visit To Qatar, Amid Hubbub Over ‘Free’ Plane, Caps Tiny State’s $40 Billion Influence Campaign To Win America’s Favor

Afrikaner refugees from South Africa holding American flags arrive, Monday, May 12, 2025, at Dulles International Airport.

Citing Racial Bias by Trump Administration, Episcopal Church Opts Out of Federal Refugee Resettlement Funding Rather Than Accept White South Africans

Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin.

EPA Administrator Promises Action To Eliminate Automatic Engine Shut-Off Devices Now Common in American Vehicles

President Trump signs an executive order during an event in the East Room of the White House, April 8, 2025, at Washington.

Trump and His Inner Circle Are Entertaining Something a Critic Calls ‘Nuts’: Suspension of Habeas Corpus To Jump-Start Deportations

From left, Prime Minister Starmer, President Zelenskyy, President Macron, Prime Minister Tusk and Chancellor Merz make a call to President Trump from Kyiv Saturday.

Most Important 36 Hours of the Russia-Ukraine War Loom as Putin-Zelensky Talks Set To Begin at Istanbul — If Putin Shows

New Claims of Saudi Role in 9/11 Bring Victims’ Families Back to Court in Lawsuit Against Riyadh

To continue reading, please select:

Enter your email to read for FREE

Join the Sun for a PENNY A DAY

Sections

More

Sign in or create a free account

A login link has been sent to