9/11 families urge Trump to press Saudis for accountability ahead of MBS visit to DC: 'Overwhelming evidence'

Ahead of a visit to the nation’s capital by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) on Tuesday, a cohort of 9/11 survivors, first responders, and family members of those lost, are urging President Donald Trump to demand that Saudi Arabia take accountability for its alleged role in the tragic Sept. 11, 2021 attacks.

Several weeks ago, United States federal district court judge George B. Daniels ruled against Saudi Arabia’s efforts to dismiss a lawsuit brought against them by the families of 9/11 victims, which alleged the country was party to the attacks. Daniels’ decision to let the case go to trial appeared to agree with the judge claiming in his August 2025 ruling that Saudi government agents provided “essential support” for the hijackers.  

“The backdrop to this visit is the recent ruling of a federal judge in New York that Saudi Arabia must stand trial for its role in the 9/11 terrorist attacks that murdered 3,000 of our loved ones,” 9/11 Justice President Brett Eagleson, whose father died in the attacks, said. “As Washington prepares to roll out the red carpet for the Saudi Crown Prince, we want to shine a spotlight on the facts found by the court, the overwhelming evidence of Saudi government support for the 9/11 plot, and the families’ nearly 25-year fight for justice.”

The statement follows a similar call to Trump from 9/11 Families United, a separate group representing 9/11 victims and their families, which was released last week. 

THE QUIET WAR: HOW TERROR HAS EVOLVED SINCE SEPT 11

Fox News Digital reached out to the Saudi Embassy in Washington, as well as the White House for comment, but did not receive a response in time for publication. 

Daniels’ August ruling implicating Saudi Arabia in the 9/11 attacks is just one of the latest developments in a multi-decade legal battle that started in 2002.

While the kingdom has denied that anyone from the Saudi Arabian government directed the individuals accused of conspiring with 9/11 hijackers, Daniels said he found it “more likely than not” that there was “some connection.” 

The allegations center around Omar al-Bayoumi and Sheikh Al Fahad Thumairy, two individuals that the 9/11 victims allege were party to helping the hijackers.

SAUDI ARABIA’S 40-YEAR-OLD DISRUPTOR: HOW MBS REWIRED THE KINGDOM IN 10 SHORT YEARS

Among the allegations against Bayoumi, who has significant ties to the Saudi government according to declassified FBI documents, is that he helped the hijackers find an apartment. When the hijackers applied for the apartment, Bayoumi co-signed the lease and listed himself as the new apartment’s guarantor.

According to Bayoumi, it is customary for the Islamic community to help newcomers find an apartment.  

Meanwhile, evidence also showed Bayoumi traveling to Washington, D.C. alongside two Saudi government officials employed by the embassy, according to Daniels’ ruling. Both of the Saudi government officials, Mutaeb Al-Sudairy and Adel Al-sadhan, also had ties to Thumairy, who they met in Los Angeles for an Islamic event between December 1998 and January 1999. 

After spending a few days in Los Angeles, according to Daniels, the pair of Saudi officials traveled to San Diego, where they stayed with Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, alleged mastermind of the 9/11 attacks.

A subsequent letter from Bayoumi to Thumairy thanked him for coordinating the trip that “provid[ed] us with brothers Mutaeb Al-Sudairy and Adel Al-sadhan.”

Thumairy, who left the U.S. for Saudi Arabia shortly before the 9/11 attacks, is accused of having met with the hijackers when they first came to California in early 2000. He denies the allegation despite being pictured with them, according to Daniels. Bayoumi, who federal agents found in 2001 was in possession of a notepad with various airplane drawings, calculations, and notes in it, is alleged to have met them shortly thereafter.

President Trump is set to host the Crown Prince for talks Tuesday. Improving diplomatic relations between the two nations has been a priority for Trump. He visited the kingdom in May, which was his first major international trip of Trump’s second term.   

“I hope that Saudi Arabia will be going into the Abraham Accords very shortly,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on Friday ahead of this week’s MBS meeting in Washington, according to the Associated Press.