(NewsNation) — A group of families of 9/11 victims are calling out President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump for not talking more about a video allegedly showing a Saudi official “casing” the U.S. Capitol as the terror attacks were being planned.
Members of 9/11 Justice, which also includes survivors and first responders, said at a news conference Tuesday that they are disappointed that Biden, Trump and lawmakers have not addressed what the group says are “explosive” revelations. In addition, 9/11 Justice is urging Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to provide “justice and closure” to families of victims.
“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,” Brett Eagleson, president of 9/11 Justice, said. “And our government has failed to bring us accountability, closure and justice.”
Video footage recently obtained by news outlets including CBS and NewsNation shows a group of men driving around a neighborhood and sometimes pointing out landmarks like the White House, the Washington Monument and the Capitol building.
Investigators working with 9/11 Families United sent NewsNation the video after a judge released it by court order as part of a civil lawsuit filed by victims’ families that seeks to hold Saudi Arabia liable for any role it had in the attacks.
Saudi government officials maintain the video is nothing more than a tourist video of Washington, D.C. Former CIA and FBI official Phil Mudd said in a previous appearance on “Cuomo” that while the video is significant, it is not necessarily evidence.
Families of those who died during 9/11, however, say the video is “damning.”
Eagleson, whose father John Bruce Eagleson was killed in the attacks, said in the years since it has been families, not the government, that have worked to get justice.
At the recent presidential debate hosted by CNN, neither Biden nor Trump mentioned the video, despite promises they’d made in previous years to families.
“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,” Eagleson said.
The Trump Organization announced Monday it will construct a Trump Tower building in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
In partnership with a Saudi-owned developer, the Trump Organization’s effort expands its influence into the Middle East and comes after the Saudi government invested $2 billion in the hedge fund of Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner.
Reporting by NewsNation correspondents Tom Dempsey and Joe Khalil contributed to this article. NewsNation partner The Hill contributed to this report.
