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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 29, 2003

SCHUMER: SAUDIS NEED TO TURN OVER SAUDI OFFICIAL LINKED TO 9/11 HIJACKERS, PHOTO-OP DIPLOMACY NOT GOOD ENOUGH

Schumer appeals directly to Saudi Foreign Minster and urges Royal Family to turn over agent identified by 9/11 report as an abettor of two September 11 hijackers

President Bush is meeting with Saudi Foreign Minister in Washington today to discuss revelations in the 9/11 report suggesting Saudi complicity in attacks

With Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal in Washington today to meet with President Bush to discuss suggestions that the Saudis played a role in the 9/11 attacks, US Senator Charles Schumer appealed directly to Faisal to turn over Omar al-Bayoumi to US authorities. New evidence appeared last week in the report released by Congress on the 9/11 attacks that linked al-Bayoumi to two of the hijackers, al-Qaeda and the Saudi government.

"We’ve heard chapter and verse from the Saudi regime about how it is our partner in the war on terror, but when it comes to cooperation, the Saudis are all talk and no action. It’s time for the Saudis to end their photo-op diplomacy and get with the program – that means turning al-Bayoumi over to US authorities. I hope the President makes this argument to Prince Faisal today,” said Schumer, who laid out the case for turning al-Bayoumi over to the US in a letter being sent to the Saudi official today.

Although the FBI dismissed any link between al-Bayoumi and terrorism in January of 2000, the report released last week by the Joint Select Committee on Intelligence linked him to two of the 9/11 hijackers, al Qaeda and the Saudi government. According to the report, al-Bayoumi was a key associate of two of the 9/11 hijackers and provided them with financial assistance. It also said he may have been an agent of the Saudi government. At around the same time the FBI was dismissing links between al-Bayoumi and terrorism, he apparently had a "closed door" meeting at the Saudi Consulate in Los Angeles after which he proceeded directly to a restaurant to meet future 9/11 hijackers Khalid Almihdhar and Nawaf Alhazmi.

In addition, one of the FBI’s best sources in San Diego identified al-Bayoumi as an intelligence officer for Saudi Arabia or another foreign power while news reports say al-Bayoumi was employed by the Saudi Ministry of Defense and Aviation. Since September 11, the FBI has learned that al-Bayoumi also had connections to individuals associated with al-Qaeda.

Despite this evidence identifying him as a central figure in the relationship between Saudi Arabia and the hijackers, American law enforcement officials have reportedly still not questioned al-Bayoumi directly. With al-Bayoumi having returned to Saudi Arabia shortly before the September 11 attacks, it is unlikely that they will be able to do so unless the Saudis turn him over to US authorities.

“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,” Schumer wrote to Faisal.

Foreign Minister Faisal is in Washington today to meet with President Bush to discuss the findings of the Joint Select Committee report. Schumer called upon Faisal to urge President Bush to declassify a key 28-page section of the report that allegedly deals with Saudi Arabia.

“In the spirit of cooperation, I also hope that...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,” wrote Schumer.

Last week, Schumer criticized the Bush Administration for keeping this section classified. He said the White House has "a systematic strategy of coddling and cover-up when it comes to the Saudis... The Administration’s whole policy toward Saudi Arabia is backward and needs to make a 180-degree turn immediately. Declassifying the 28-page section would be a good first step."

For a copy of Schumer's letter to Prince Faisal click here.

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