Fresh 9/11 claims link Saudis to attacks
The Embassy of Saudi Arabia in Washington said in a statement Zacarias Moussaoui’s claims come from a “deranged criminal” and that there is no evidence to support them. It said Saudi Arabia had nothing to do with the deadly 2001 attacks.
The lawyers filed documents in Manhattan federal court to buttress claims Saudi Arabia supported al-Qaeda and its leader at the time, Osama bin Laden, prior to the attacks. They have always said “the Saudi government directly and knowingly assisted the 9/11 hijackers,” but now say facts and evidence supporting the assertion “are compelling.”
They said an “expansive volume” of new evidence — including US and foreign intelligence reports, government reports and testimony from al-Qaeda members — support lawsuits seeking billions of dollars from countries, companies and organisations that aided al-Qaeda and other terrorist groups.
They said evidence likely to be released soon includes a congressional report detailing evidence of Saudi 9/11 involvement and nearly 80,000 pages of material relating to an FBI probe o Saudis who supported 9/11 hijackers in Florida.
They also cited their own research, including last year’s Moussaoui interview at the maximum-security prison in Colorado.
Moussaoui repeated some assertions made previously, including that a 1990s plot by al-Qaeda to shoot down Air Force One and assassinate President Bill Clinton was assisted by a top Saudi Embassy employee, along with claims there were direct dealings between senior Saudi officials and bin Laden.
The lawyers also said their case is boosted by sworn statements by 9/11 Commissioners John Lehman and Bob Kerrey, as well as Bob Graham, co-chairman of the Joint Congressional Inquiry into 9/11. Graham says he believes “there was a direct line” between some September 11 terrorists and the government of Saudi Arabia while Lehman, a former Navy secretary, explained close historical ties between the kingdom’s government clerics and al-Qaeda, the lawyers noted.
The court filing, coming less than two weeks after the death of Saudi King Abdullah, was made to meet a deadline set by Judge George B. Daniels.
In a website statement, the Saudi embassy noted the September 11 attack had been the “most intensely investigated crime in history and the findings show no involvement by the Saudi government or Saudi officials.”
As for Moussaoui, the statement said: “His words have no credibility. His goal in making these statements only serves to get attention for himself and try to do what he could not do through acts of terrorism — to undermine Saudi-US relations.”
