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9/11 Questions Remain: Saudi Arabia’s alleged role detailed in recent filing before MDL court

Motley Rice has long pursued justice for the many victims of September 11, 2001. As part of these efforts, Motley Rice attorneys, along with co-counsel, have filed a motion opposing the dismissal of defendants Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Saudi High Commission from In re Terrorist Attacks on September 11, 2001, MDL #1570 pending in the S.D.N.Y.

This filing, which details the allegations of certain member of the Saudi Arabia’s royal family and their material support of the 9/11 hijackers and those that carried out the attacks, has renewed interest in what has commonly been referred to as the Missing 28 Pages. Redacted from the 832-page Joint Inquiry into Intelligence Community Activities Before and After the Terrorist Attacks of September 2001, these 28 pages “directly address the Saudi role in financing the [9/11] attacks,” according to former U.S. Senator Bob Kerrey, who served as a member of the 9/11 Commission.

“As a member of the 9/11 Commission, I personally read the 28 classified pages of the report,” stated former Navy Secretary John Lehman in an article to Salon. “Disclosure would greatly assist policymakers and the public in understanding many of the threats that we now confront.”

Senator Bob Graham, Co-Chair of the 9/11 Joint Inquiry that authored the Joint Inquiry’s report containing the 28 pages, has sworn that “there was a direct line between at least some of the terrorists who carried out the September 11th attacks and the government of Saudi Arabia.” 

Recently released testimony by “20th hijacker” Zacarias Moussaoui, a former Al Qaeda operative currently serving six life sentences, further asserts Al Qaeda’s close relationship with the members of the Saudi government.

The push to declassify these pages is long overdue.  For years, the organization 9/11 Families United to Bankrupt Terrorism has called for their release and has backed the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act (JASTA, S. 1535 and H.R. 3143 in the 113th Congress) since it was introduced in September 2013. The families have spearheaded the push for JASTA and shown strong support for a bill introduced by Senator Walter Jones (R, NC-3) urging for the 28 pages’ declassification. 

“The American people have been left in the dark for too long regarding the truth behind the attacks on September 11. The families of those who died on our nation’s most horrible day deserve peace of mind and we all deserve to know who would back such barbaric acts so they many be held accountable,” said Motley Rice attorney Jodi Westbrook Flowers.

The lawsuit is In re Terrorist Attacks on September 11, 2001, MDL 1570. For more information, contact Motley Rice attorney Jodi Westbrook Flowers at 1.800.768.4026 or by email. 

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