New video raises questions about whether Saudi government assisted 9/11 hijackers

we start with a CBS News exclusive the unnerving video outside the US capital filmed 2 years before the 911 attacks good evening I'm nor O'Donnell and thank you for being with us two decades ago the 9911 commission found that Al-Qaeda acted alone but victim's families say that is not true pointing to this video and other evidence as proof they are suing Saudi Arabia claiming its government provided crucial assistance to the hijackers and planners behind the September 11th attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people 60 Minutes correspondent Cecilia Vega reports a voice on the video says in Arabic I am transmitting these scenes to you from the heart of the American capital Washington this video unsealed in federal court this week and obtained by 60 Minutes was recorded in the summer of 1999 man behind the camera is Omar albumi who the FBI says was an operative of the Saudi intelligence service with close ties to two of the 9911 hijackers time is 6 p.m. the video was filmed over several days Bei recorded entrances and exits of the Capital Security posts a model of the building and nearby landmarks monument in this portion of the video Bei points out the Washington Monument and says I will get over there and report to you in detail what is there he also notes the airport is not far away what I see bayomi doing is going out and making a detailed video record of the capital from all its sides and then conducting that 360° panoramic view gs1 Richard Lambert is a retired FBI agent who led the initial 911 investigation in San Diego where baumi and the two hijack live temporarily before the attacks he's now a consultant on the case filed by the 911 families if you've ever flown into Washington DC one of the first things you see on the horizon is the Washington Monument so if you know where your other targets are in terms of the Washington Monument it helps guide you to your intended target Federal investigators believe the hijackers on flight 93 which crashed near Shanksville Pennsylvania had the US capital as their likely Target the lawyers for the 9/11 families and Former Intelligence analysts we spoke to believe portions of the video show baumi surveilling the capital as part of that plan and in the video he references a quote plan you said that in the plan what plan who is he talking to what do you think he's talking about I think he's talking to the alqaeda planners who tasked him to take the pre-operational Sur surveillance video of the intended target so this video is taken in late June and early July of 1999 what is that timing tell you well that means it was taken within 90 days of the time when senior Al Qaeda planners reached the decision that the capital would be a target of the 911 attacks that's when Osama Bin Laden decided to approve colge shik Muhammad's so-called planes operation in the days after 9/11 British police discovered the video during a raid on bei's UK apartment they also seized Baum's handwritten address book that the lawyers for the 9/11 family say was filled with phone numbers of numerous senior Saudi officials who were in the government at the time and when baumi filmed the Washington video he was often with two Saudi diplomats who the FBI says had ties to Al-Qaeda a finding the Saudi government disputes well it is another very large brick in a massive wall of evidence that at this point indicates the Saudi government was complicit in the 9911 attacks Ken Williams is a retired FBI agent who led the 911 investigation in Phoenix where one of the hijackers attended flight school he's also a consultant on the case filed by the 9911 families in terms of all the revelations that have come out as part of this 911 lawsuit where does this video rank I think it ranks right at the top of the pile the government of Saudi Arabia says nothing to see here this is a tourist video this is a guy out looking at the sites in Washington DC I would vehemently disagree with that this is not a tourist video the British police are believed to have turned over the video to the FBI shortly after 911 which raises the question why after more than 20 years is it just now surfacing did somebody really mess this up this seems like a really big thing to just being made public if that was missed then shame on us for missing it if it wasn't missed then I would have to ask the question what was done with it that was Cecilia Vega reporting and CBS News reached out to the FBI which says it will not comment about ongoing litigation both the Saudi government and Omar albumi deny any involvement in 911 and lawyers for the government have filed a motion to dismiss the case oral arguments are scheduled for later this summer 60 Minutes will have more on this story in the fall

Channel: CBS Evening News

Views: 49,717

Keywords: Classified Documents, Terrorism, Saudi Arabia, Al Qaeda, 9/11, CBS Evening News, U.S.

Id: M-5lFinDi8A

Length: 5min 31sec (331 seconds)

Published: Thu Jun 20 2024