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July 29, 2003
Foreign Minister Saud Al-Faisal
c/o Prince Bandar Bin Sultan Bin Abdul Aziz
601 New Hampshire Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20037

Dear Prince Saud:

On the eve of your visit with President Bush, I write to urge you to turn over Omar al-Bayoumi to Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) officials as a sign of goodwill between our two nations as we work together to win the war on terror.

As you are aware, the Joint Inquiry into Intelligence Community Activities Before and After the Terrorist Attacks of September 2001 uncovered several leads linking al-Bayoumi to the hijackers responsible for the attacks of 9-11, al Qaeda and the Saudi government. Reports also indicate that al-Bayoumi has returned to Saudi Arabia.

Al-Bayoumi’s intimate association with 9-11 hijackers Khalid Almihdhar and Nawaf Alhazmi, terrorists to whom he gave financial assistance before the attacks, is of great interest to investigators. In a matter that is a grave concern for both of our nations, it appears that Saudi officials may have been responsible for introducing the three men in early 2000 because, according to the FBI, al-Bayoumi met the hijackers in a “somewhat suspicious meeting” immediately after al-Bayoumi had a closed-door consultation at the Saudi consulate in Los Angeles. Al-Bayoumi has also been labeled as an intelligence officer of Saudi Arabia or another nation by one of the FBI’s best informants.

In the fight against terror, Saudi Foreign Policy Advisor Adel al-Jubeir has stated that the United States and Saudi Arabia “are in this together,”and Ambassador Bandar has professed “Saudi Arabia has nothing to hide.” Given the evidence, presenting al-Bayoumi to FBI officials for questioning is essential to backing up these words with deeds. In the spirit of cooperation, I also hope that when you meet, you encourage President Bush to declassify a key 28-page section from the Joint Inquiry report that deals with foreign sources of support for the 9-11 hijackers. Only with the release of this information will both of our countries know where to focus our efforts to end terror.

Both of our nations have suffered greatly as a result of terrorism and it is in both of our interests to cooperate to end it. I hope that in this spirit Saudi Arabia would turn over Omar al-Bayoumi to the FBI for questioning and you would urge President Bush to declassify the 28 pages of the Joint Inquiry’s report.

Sincerely,
Charles Schumer
U.S. Senator