In a significant development, the long-sealed immigration fraud case against Omar Ahmed al-Bayoumi, a Saudi national linked to the 9/11 terrorist attacks, has been unsealed by federal prosecutors in San Diego. The charges, filed in U.S. District Court, do not directly connect Bayoumi to the 9/11 attacks but accuse him of filing immigration documents containing false information in 1997.
The timing of the unsealing of the case, which had remained sealed for nearly 23 years, is believed to be related to an ongoing federal lawsuit in New York alleging that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia supported the 9/11 terrorists. The Saudi government has consistently denied any involvement in the attacks and has sought the dismissal of the lawsuit filed by the families of 9/11 victims.
Bayoumi, who had lived in Clairemont for years, has emerged as a key figure in the legal efforts by the 9/11 families to establish a connection between the Saudi government and the terrorist attacks. He has previously claimed to have met two of the hijackers, Nawaf al-Hazmi and Khalid al-Mihdhar, and assisted them in settling in San Diego.
The families and their attorneys argue that evidence developed in their civil case, along with investigative files made public after a 2021 order by President Joe Biden, supports the claim that Bayoumi was a Saudi intelligence agent who played a central role in coordinating and supporting extremist activities in Southern California.
The San Diego connection to the 9/11 attacks first came to light when investigators discovered an abandoned car registered to a home in Lemon Grove at Dulles International Airport, the departure point of the flight that crashed into the Pentagon. It was later revealed that Hazmi and Mihdhar, the first hijackers to arrive in the U.S., had settled in San Diego with the assistance of Bayoumi.
Bayoumi, who left the U.S. for England two months before the attacks, has since returned to Saudi Arabia. The criminal charges against him have remained dormant due to his absence, but the case has not been closed. In the unlikely event that Bayoumi returns to the U.S., he could be arrested on the charges.
The unsealing of the immigration fraud case against Bayoumi adds another layer to the complex legal battle surrounding the alleged involvement of the Saudi government in the 9/11 attacks. As the lawsuit in New York continues, the families of 9/11 victims and their attorneys are pushing for further access to sealed records and exhibits, hoping to uncover more evidence to support their claims.
1 Response
What impact do you think the unsealing of the immigration fraud case against Omar Ahmed al-Bayoumi will have on the ongoing conversation about national security and immigration policies?