Did the U.S. Hide Key Evidence in the Sept. 11 Attacks? Newly Leaked Footage Emerges: “People Have Been Convicted for Far Less”

More than 25 years after the Sept. 11 attacks, previously unseen footage has placed Saudi national Omar al-Bayoumi alongside Anwar al-Awlaki, a future leader of al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, and Saudi officials.

The footage, obtained by BBC Panorama and Radio 4, forms part of the evidence in a multibillion-dollar lawsuit brought by families of Sept. 11 victims against Saudi Arabia. The families allege that Saudi officials helped some of the hijackers and that Riyadh was connected to the attacks. Saudi Arabia categorically denies those allegations.

The new material is significant because it conflicts with some of Bayoumi’s earlier statements. One recording shows him playing paintball with Awlaki, while another captures the two men meeting and embracing. During questioning in the families’ case in 2021, Bayoumi claimed he had never met Awlaki.

One video, filmed in the San Diego area in 1997 or early 1998, shows men in military clothing taking part in simulated combat and shooting at targets. A Saudi religious official is also present, and Bayoumi addresses Awlaki as “Sheikh Anwar.” At one point, some participants shout “Allahu Akbar.” U.S. investigators later learned that some people involved viewed the paintball activities as preparation for jihad, and Bayoumi and Awlaki took part in similar gatherings for at least three years.

After the attacks, the FBI investigated Bayoumi closely because of his connections to two of the hijackers, but prosecutors never charged him. A drawing of an aircraft with mathematical calculations was found among his belongings. A U.S. federal judge later said the document appeared, at least on its face, to connect Bayoumi with knowledge of the attacks. Bayoumi arrived in the United States in 1994, ostensibly to study English, but court documents show that he eventually abandoned his studies and began organizing religious events.

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Sheikh Anwar.