New video evidence, obtained by the BBC, reportedly reveals extensive links between Omar al-Bayoumi, a key figure in a $1 trillion lawsuit brought by 9/11 families, and Saudi government officials, as well as Anwar al-Awlaki, who would later lead al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. The footage, which the FBI reportedly possessed days after the 2001 attacks, appears to contradict Bayoumi's 25 years of denials regarding his alleged extremist ties and role as a Saudi spy.
One video reportedly shows Bayoumi embracing Awlaki in January 1998. Another clip reportedly depicts Bayoumi and Awlaki paintballing near San Diego with an official from Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Islamic Affairs. Participants in these paintball sessions, which occurred over several years, were reportedly told by some that they were training for jihad.
These videos are part of the 9/11 families' lawsuit against Saudi Arabia, which alleges the kingdom was complicit in the attacks and that Bayoumi assisted two of the hijackers. The footage has not been publicly shown before, but was placed on the public docket on 4 September this year. Bayoumi was arrested in the UK by the Metropolitan Police days after the 9/11 attacks, and the videos, along with a diagram of a plane with a flight descent equation, were reportedly found among his possessions.
Despite multiple FBI agents receiving copies of the plane diagram, it was reportedly not shared with British interrogators or the 9/11 Commission. An FBI source stated the diagram was analysed by the FBI's New York office, but a US Department of Justice official told the BBC he was never shown a proposal to prosecute Bayoumi based on the evidence. Bayoumi and the Saudi government have not responded to the BBC's requests for comment but have consistently denied any involvement or prior knowledge of the attacks.