A federal judge in New York denied a motion by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to dismiss a lawsuit brought by families of 9/11 victims who are seeking to hold the Middle Eastern country responsible for potentially providing support to the hijackers, allowing the suit to proceed.
The ruling is the latest in a long-running lawsuit seeking to hold the Saudi government liable for al Qaeda’s attacks, a case that has been described by lawyers for the plaintiffs as a “labyrinth.”
Saudi Arabia had the suit temporarily dismissed in 2015, before the dismissal was overturned by a federal appeals court. While the appeal was pending in 2016, Congress enacted a law known as the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act, which allowed victims of terror attacks to sue foreign governments and individuals if they provided material support to the attackers. It also gave U.S. courts jurisdiction over potential lawsuits filed over injuries and deaths in attacks on U.S. soil.
Allegations that members of the Saudi government had links to some of the Sept. 11 hijackers have circulated for years. The claims have drawn vehement denials from Saudi Arabia, a key U.S. ally in the Middle East. Most theories have centered on two of the 19 hijackers: Khalid al-Mihdhar and Nawaf al-Hazmi, who were on the plane that crashed into the Pentagon.
More than a year before the hijackings, al-Midhar and al-Hazmi settled in Los Angeles, where a Saudi man named Omar al-Bayoumi helped them find an apartment. A 2004 report by the 9/11 Commission said that Bayoumi met the two hijackers by chance at a restaurant.
But the families of some victims and their attorneys have alleged that Bayoumi had deeper connections to Saudi Arabia, citing federal reports declassified in recent years that allege he had “extensive ties” with the Gulf monarchy’s government and was accused of serving as a Saudi intelligence officer. The FBI has also investigated whether the two hijackers got assistance from Fahad al-Thumairy, an accredited Saudi diplomat and imam at a Los Angeles mosque. The 9/11 Commission found no evidence that Thumairy helped the hijackers.
Last year, a “60 Minutes” report revealed new evidence about Bayoumi, including a video of him filming the entrances of the U.S. Capitol and pointing out its location relative to the Washington Monument, at some points referencing a “plan.” Investigators have long believed the Capitol may have been the intended target of Flight 93, which crashed into a field in Pennsylvania after passengers overtook the hijackers.
Decades ago, investigators also found a notebook in Bayoumi’s home that seemed to show a drawing of a plane and a mathematical equation that could be used to calculate the rate of descent to a target.
Many of those allegations were raised by attorneys for the victims of the Sept. 11 attacks. Lawyers for the Saudi government have repeatedly pushed for all claims against the country to be dismissed, including in October 2023. A Manhattan judge rejected that request Thursday.
“Plaintiffs have managed to provide this Court with reasonable evidence as to the roles played by Bayoumi, Thumairy, and KSA, in assisting the hijackers. KSA did not proffer sufficient evidence to the contrary,” U.S. District Judge in the Southern District of New York George Daniels wrote in an order Thursday. “Although KSA attempts to offer seemingly innocent explanations or context, they are either self-contradictory or not strong enough to overcome the inference that KSA had employed Bayoumi and Thumairy to assist the hijackers.”
Daniels wrote that while the families and attorneys representing Saudi Arabia disagree on Bayoumi’s motive, it is “undisputed” that Bayoumi assisted in finding the hijackers’ apartments, and signed a lease with them as a guarantor. Daniels said it is also “undisputed” that a notepad page “with an airplane drawing, notes, and numbers” was found in Bayoumi’s home.
Attorneys representing Saudi Arabia, Daniels wrote, argued that “Bayoumi’s encounters with the hijackers were coincidences,” and he was “simply being good-natured” when he provided assistance to the hijackers. The lawyers, Daniels said, claimed the airplane drawing “was unrelated to the 9/11 Attacks” and “likely related to Bayoumi’s son’s high school [assignments].”
“These are all either conclusory attorney speculations not grounded in facts, or self-serving denials or excuses from Bayoumi himself that do not withstand scrutiny,” Daniels wrote.
“We welcome the court’s thorough and well-reasoned decision and look forward to moving the case forward to trial,” Sean P. Carter, an attorney representing the families, said in a statement.
The Justice Department and the Saudi Embassy in Washington, D.C., did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
contributed to this report.
