WASHINGTON (NewsNation) — A group of families of 9/11 victims released a video overnight, claiming it’s new evidence that Saudi government officials were involved in planning the attacks on U.S. soil.
Investigators for 9/11 Families United claim the video shows a Saudi intelligence official casing the U.S. Capitol around the same time al-Qaida was deciding on targets for the attacks.
The group sent NewsNation the video after a judge released it by court order. The video has been referenced in court filings as part of a civil lawsuit filed by victims’ families against Saudi Arabia seeking to hold the country liable for its role, if any, in the attacks.
Fifteen of the 19 hijackers were from Saudi Arabia and all were members of al-Qaida, then led by Osama bin Laden, who was born in Saudi Arabia and whose family had close ties to the Saudi royal family.
9/11 Families United: Video shows people ‘casing’ Washington
Advocates for 9/11 victims believe this video could be indisputable proof that the Saudi government was complicit, or at least knew about, the planning of the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001.
The whole video totals around an hour, and at times shows a group of men driving around a neighborhood. At other times, it shows them pointing out landmarks like the White House, the Washington Monument and the Capitol building.
The group seen in the video is believed to have ties to the Saudi government and are allegedly the same people seen on video in the U.S. with multiple 9/11 hijackers before the attack.
The Capitol building, in particular, was a focus of the group, with them showing off different angles and areas inside.
Investigators believe the Capitol building served as a possible target for United Flight 93, which crashed in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, after passengers tried to regain control of the plane from hijackers.
Who’s behind the video, and what do we know?
One man identifies himself as Omar Al Bayoumi, who has been a big subject of the theories of the alleged Saudi Arabian government link to 9/11.
He came to the U.S. in the 90s from Saudi Arabia and lived in the San Diego area for some time.
In 1998, the FBI opened an inquiry involving allegations from an apartment manager who told police about a suspicious package that arrived from the Middle East. The manager also reported strange wires in his bathroom.
Bayoumi allegedly hosted frequent gatherings with men who appeared to be Middle Eastern, the manager reported.
The FBI closed the case in 1999, not conducting a full investigation and finding no link to terrorism.
But in February 2000, an associate of Bayoumi’s reported him having a coincidental run-in with two men who later became 9/11 hijackers.
They developed a friendship with Bayoumi, who advised them on an apartment rental at the same complex where he lived. Not only did he co-sign a lease and host a welcome party for them, he also paid their rent for the first few months.
Bayoumi appears in the video, igniting questions regarding the 9/11 terrorist attacks and possibly linking the Saudi Arabian government.
FBI doesn’t want bulk release of 9/11 evidence
A new letter shows the U.S. government siding with Saudi Arabia and objecting to the unsealing of evidence related to the 9/11 attacks.
The Department of Justice and FBI sent a letter to the judge overseeing the lawsuit between 9/11 victims and Saudi Arabia, asking him not to unseal the material the families are pushing to make public.
Obtained from court filings, the letter states the never-before-seen evidence should not be released when the agency has not had a chance to review it.
The victims’ families told NewsNation they were surprised to see the FBI weighing in on the Saudi government’s side of the issue.
The FBI did signal that if either side wanted something unsealed, it would be able to review the material and make a case-by-case judgment on whether it should be released.
NewsNation’s Joe Khalil, Devan Markham and Steph Whiteside contributed to this report.
