Anchor
Videos show 9/11 lawsuit defendant with al-Qaeda leader
Rule ChangesFBI-held evidence in $1 trillion Saudi lawsuit emerges after 25 years
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Overview
Updated 2 hours agoOmar al-Bayoumi denied being an extremist or a Saudi spy for 25 years. Newly released video shows him embracing Anwar al-Awlaki and paintballing with a Saudi government official near San Diego in the late 1990s.
The footage is part of a $1 trillion lawsuit by 9/11 families who allege Saudi Arabia helped the hijackers. A federal judge already let the case proceed to trial. More FBI-held evidence could still surface and reshape the official account of the attacks.
Why it matters
A verdict on whether Saudi officials aided the 9/11 hijackers could rewrite the official account of the attacks.
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Key Indicators
$1 trillion
Lawsuit amount sought by 9/11 families
The civil suit against Saudi Arabia seeks damages for the nearly 3,000 people killed in the attacks.
25 years
Years Bayoumi denied extremist ties
The newly released video contradicts that denial, which he repeated as recently as a 2021 deposition.
~3,000
People killed in the 9/11 attacks
Nineteen hijackers struck the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and a Pennsylvania field.
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Videos show 9/11 lawsuit defendant with al-Qaeda leader
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People Involved
OA
Omar al-Bayoumi
Saudi national at center of the 9/11 families' lawsuit
Denies assisting hijackers; evidence contradicts him
Anwar al-Awlaki
Cleric who became a leader of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula
Killed by U.S. drone strike in Yemen in 2011
George B. Daniels
U.S. District Judge overseeing the Saudi lawsuit
Ruled evidence compelling enough for trial
JF
Jodi Westbrook Flowers
Attorney for the 9/11 families
Lead figure on the families' legal team
Organizations Involved
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
Federal Agency
Held evidence that was not shared with British interrogators, its own agents, or the 9/11 Commission
The FBI investigated Bayoumi after 9/11 but withheld key evidence from other agencies for years.
9/11 Commission
Independent Inquiry
Concluded Saudi officials did not knowingly support al-Qaeda
The independent commission investigated the 2001 attacks and released its report in 2004.
Saudi Arabia
Sovereign State
Defendant in $1 trillion lawsuit
The Saudi government is the defendant in the 9/11 families' lawsuit and denies any role in the attacks.
Timeline
January 1997 September 2026
12 events
Latest: Yesterday
Showing 8 of 12
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-
BBC publishes report on Bayoumi videos
Latest ReportBBC Panorama and Radio 4 reveal the videos, the plane diagram, and the FBI's failure to share evidence with British interrogators, San Diego agents, and the 9/11 Commission.
-
Paintball video placed on public docket
EvidenceThe FBI-held video contradicting Bayoumi's denial is released to the court and placed on the public record.
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Judge finds evidence compelling for trial
LegalGeorge B. Daniels rules the evidence creates 'a reasonable inference' of Saudi coordination with Bayoumi and lets the case proceed to trial.
-
Plane diagram made public
EvidenceThe notebook page with the flight descent equation, in Bayoumi's handwriting, is placed on the public docket after a subpoena.
-
Biden orders 9/11 document release
PolicyExecutive order directs declassification of 9/11 investigation documents over six months, accelerating the release of evidence in the Saudi lawsuit.
-
Judge allows lawsuit to proceed
LegalA federal judge rules the 9/11 families' lawsuit against Saudi Arabia can go forward, clearing the way for document discovery.
-
9/11 Commission report released
ReportThe commission concludes Saudi officials did not knowingly support al-Qaeda. Staff objected to the finding on Bayoumi; the commission never saw the plane diagram.
-
Bayoumi released without charge
LegalBayoumi is freed after seven days. He was never prosecuted, despite a Department of Justice official saying later, 'We've convicted people for less.'
-
Bayoumi arrested in Birmingham, England
ArrestBritish police raid Bayoumi's apartment and find the paintball video, about 80 other tapes, a phone book with Saudi official contacts, and the plane diagram.
-
9/11 attacks kill nearly 3,000
AttackNineteen hijackers fly planes into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and a Pennsylvania field. Two of the hijackers had lived in San Diego with Bayoumi's help.
-
Hijackers arrive in San Diego
InvestigationNawaf al-Hazmi and Khalid al-Mihdhar settle in California with Bayoumi's help: apartment, bank account, driver's licenses, flight school applications.
-
Paintball video filmed near San Diego
EvidenceBayoumi filmed men, including Anwar al-Awlaki, in urban combat exercises with a Saudi Ministry of Islamic Affairs official. The FBI had this tape within days of the 2001 attacks.
Historical Context
2 moments from history that rhyme with this story — and how they unfolded.
December 1988
Pan Am Flight 103 / Lockerbie (1988)
A bomb brought down Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, killing 270 people. Libya was implicated in 1991, and one intelligence agent was convicted in 2001.
Then
Libya accepted responsibility in 2003 and paid $2.7 billion to the families.
Now
It took 15 years to establish state involvement, a reminder of how slowly state-sponsorship claims move.
Why this matters now
The 9/11 families' Saudi lawsuit is a similar attempt to establish state responsibility for a mass-casualty attack through civil litigation.
1995, video aired 2005
Srebrenica 'Scorpions' video (1995, surfaced 2005)
A video showed Serbian paramilitaries executing Bosnian civilians near Srebrenica. It circulated publicly in 2005 and shifted international opinion on Serbia's wartime role.
Then
The footage pushed the International Criminal Tribunal to revisit cases and pressured Serbia to cooperate with prosecutions.
Now
Visual evidence surfacing a decade later changed the public record of a mass atrocity.
Why this matters now
The paintball video and plane diagram are visual evidence emerging decades after 9/11, similar to how the Scorpions video reframed Srebrenica when it surfaced in 2005.