Judge Allows 9/11 Families' Lawsuit Against Saudi Arabia
The Facts
- U.S. District Judge George Daniels rejected Saudi Arabia's motion to dismiss a civil lawsuit filed by 9/11 victims' families, allowing the case to proceed to trial after more than two decades of litigation.
- The lawsuit alleges that two Saudi nationals, Omar al-Bayoumi and Fahad al-Thumairy, were employed by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to assist hijackers Nawaf al-Hazmi and Khalid al-Mihdhar in California before the attacks.Judge Daniels found that Saudi Arabia's explanations were "either self-contradictory or not strong enough to overcome the inference" that the Kingdom employed the two men to help the hijackers. Judge Daniels clarified that this decision pertained more to jurisdiction than legal merit.
The Spin
Narrative A
The evidence overwhelmingly shows Saudi Arabia's complicity in the 9/11 attacks. Two Saudi operatives received significant salary increases while helping hijackers secure apartments and navigate American society. The airplane sketches and descent calculations found in Bayoumi's possession, combined with his suspicious Capitol building surveillance videos, paint a clear picture of premeditated support for the 9/11 plot.
Narrative B
Saudi Arabia was actually America's partner in fighting terrorism and had stripped Osama bin Laden of his citizenship years before 9/11, taking more action against him than any other nation. The assistance provided to the hijackers was limited hospitality from mosque congregants helping newcomers who couldn't speak English. Any connections are coincidental attorney speculation not grounded in facts.
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