New York, NY — Last year, for the first time since that fateful September morning 16 years ago, families of victims of the 9/11 terror attacks used a new law to go after Saudi Arabia in lawsuits for their role in the attacks. After evidence was revealed during the lawsuit showing the Saudi Arabian embassy in Washington may have funded a “dry run” for the hijackings carried out by two Saudi employees, Saudi Arabia went into panic mode. In response, Saudi Arabia quickly attempted to use their pull inside the United States to have the lawsuits thrown out. However, this attempt has now failed.
According to Reuters, “U.S. District Judge George Daniels in Manhattan said the plaintiffs’ allegations “narrowly articulate a reasonable basis” for him to assert jurisdiction over Saudi Arabia under the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act (JASTA), a 2016 federal law.”
Despite Barack Obama’s attempt to deny recourse to the victims of 9/11 by vetoing JASTA, the Senate quickly answered back with a near-unanimous override, thus making it law. The landmark decision by the Senate became the first and only override of the Obama presidency.
According to Reuters, “Daniels said the plaintiffs could try to prove that Saudi Arabia was liable for the alleged activities of Fahad al Thumairy, an imam at the King Fahad Mosque in Culver City, California, and Omar al Bayoumi, said to be an intelligence officer. They were accused of helping two hijackers acclimate themselves to the United States, and begin preparing for the attacks.”
Naturally, lawyers for Saudi Arabia are denying all allegations and are demanding that the lawsuits be dismissed immediately. According to the Saudi newspaper Okaz, in January of this year, the government of Saudi Arabia called on a US federal judge to immediately reject the lawsuit. Because of the decision this week, that will not happen.
James Kreindler, a lawyer for many of the plaintiffs, said he was “delighted” the case can proceed, according to Reuters.
“We have been pressing to proceed with the case and conduct discovery from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, so that the full story can come to light, and expose the Saudi role in the 9/11 attacks,” he said in a phone interview.
As TFTP has previously reported, thanks to the release of the 28 pages, Americans and the rest of the world now know that Saudi Arabia played a significant role in the September 11th attacks. Also, thanks to the release of 28 pages, we know that the US government was complicit in covering up Saudi Arabia’s role in the attacks.
Even the severely flawed and biased “9/11 Commission Report” did not did not “exclude the likelihood that charities with significant Saudi government sponsorship diverted funds to Al-Qaeda.”
For a decade and a half, Presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush kept secret the alleged role Saudi Arabia played in the September 11 attacks on America. Becuase of the cozy relationship the US has with the terrorist nation—which Trump is complicit in maintaining—special interests within the government have chosen to protect their Saudi friends instead of telling Americans the truth about what happened that fateful day.
Only because of the vigilance of those seeking the truth is this lawsuit and others like it now a reality. In fact, another lawsuit, filed last year, produced evidence of Saudi embassies giving aid to the hijackers.
According to an exclusive report by PIX 11, the lawsuit contains evidence which:
details how officials from Saudi embassies supported hijackers Salem al-Hazmi and Khalid Al-Mihdhar 18 months before 9/11.
The officials allegedly helped them find apartments, learn English and obtain credit cards and cash. The documents state that the officials helped them learn how to blend into the American landscape.
The suit also produces evidence that officials in the Saudi embassy in Germany supported lead hijacker Mohamed Atta. It claims that a Saudi official was in the same hotel in Virginia with several hijackers the night before the attacks….
The lawsuit asserts that the Saudi royals, who for years had been trying to curry favor with fundamentalists to avoid losing power, were aware that funds from Saudi charities were being funneled to al-Qaida.
Aviation attorney Jim Kreindler told PIX11 News: “The charities were alter egos of the Saudi government.”
“The Saudis were so duplicitous,” Kreindler said. “They claim to be allies fighting with U.S. against Iran, while at the same time working with the terrorists. There’s no question they had a hand in the 9/11 attacks.”
Daniel’s decision affects the claims of 25,000 victims, families of victims, businesses, and insurers who can now move forward with their lawsuits.
While this is good news, Daniels did, however, dismiss claims against Saudi businesses and a government-linked charity, saying that those did not overcome the presumption of immunity. This decision could limit the ability of plaintiffs to seek payment for the billions in damages as the only one who would now be paying would be the Saudi government.