New Evidence Links 9/11 Figure to Extremists and Saudi State, FBI Scrutinized

New video footage and previously withheld evidence have emerged in a long-standing 9/11 lawsuit, raising questions about alleged undisclosed links between a key figure and Saudi state extremists, as well as the thoroughness of the original investigation. The new evidence, unsealed in federal court and obtained by the BBC, centers on Omar al-Bayoumi, a Saudi national who lived in the United States prior to the attacks. The FBI has stated that Bayoumi was an operative of Saudi intelligence with close ties to two of the 9/11 hijackers.

The newly revealed video shows Bayoumi embracing Anwar al-Awlaki, who later became a leader of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, and participating in a paintballing excursion with Awlaki and a Saudi Ministry of Islamic Affairs official near San Diego. This footage, reportedly in the FBI's possession within days of the 2001 attacks, contradicts Bayoumi's earlier denials of extremist links and his 2021 deposition testimony where he claimed not to have met Awlaki. Further evidence, including a plane diagram with a flight descent equation, was found in Bayoumi's apartment shortly after 9/11, but some critical evidence, like the Washington D.C. Capitol video, never reached the FBI's San Diego field office.

Families of 9/11 victims are pursuing a lawsuit against Saudi Arabia, alleging complicity in the attacks. While the 2004 9/11 Commission initially deemed Bayoumi an "unlikely candidate" for extremist involvement, later declassified FBI documents from 2016 and 2021 revealed more significant connections between Saudi officials in the U.S. and the hijackers, and that Bayoumi was secretly paid by the Saudi Defense Ministry. Saudi Arabia has consistently denied any role in the attacks.