9/11 Families Seek Saudi Arabia Role Documents

Families of victims from the September 11, 2001, attacks will ask a federal appeals court Wednesday to compel the government to release documents they believe link the Saudi Arabian government to the plot. The families contend these documents could clarify Saudi Arabia's alleged role in the hijackings that targeted New York and Washington D.C.

During this year's 9/11 commemoration in New York, family members voiced frustration over the government's continued secrecy. Terry Strada, whose husband Tom Strada died in the attacks, stated at the ceremony, "Administration after administration, including leaders in front of us here today, chose to protect the Saudis instead of standing with the 9/11 families."

Evidence previously released in a lawsuit focuses on Omar al Bayoumi, a Saudi national living in California. Families assert al Bayoumi was a Saudi intelligence asset who aided at least two of the 9/11 hijackers. The FBI identified many hijackers as Saudi nationals. Others were from the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, and Lebanon.

Saudi Arabia consistently denies any involvement in facilitating the attacks. In court filings, the Saudi government states it is "an ally of the United States [and] a sworn enemy of Al Qaeda." President Donald Trump's administration will decide whether to declassify further records. A White House spokesperson said last month, "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."