In 2021, the FBI stated that Omar al-Bayoumi was a Saudi intelligence agent with ties to 9/11 hijackers Nawaf al-Hazmi and Khalid al-Mihdhar when they initially entered into the US.
"[13][14] In July 2016, the U.S. government released a document, compiled by Dana Lesemann and Michael Jacobson,[15] known as "File 17", which contains a list naming three dozen people, including Fahad al-Thumairy, Omar al-Bayoumi, Osama Bassnan, and Mohdhar Abdullah, which connects Saudi Arabia to the hijackers.
"[17] In April 2020, the FBI neglected to redact one of the several instances of the Saudi diplomat name, Mussaed Ahmed al-Jarrah (MAJ), in a court filing in the lawsuit brought by 9/11 families.
[22][20][19] On September 11, 2020, US Magistrate Judge Sarah Netburn ordered two members of the Saudi royal family, including Prince Bandar bin Sultan, to answer questions raised by the 9/11 lawsuit.
Relatives of the September 11 attack victims claim that the agents of Saudi Arabia knowingly supported al-Qaeda and its leader Osama bin Laden, before hijacking and crashing the planes into New York's World Trade Center Twin Towers.
[23] On September 11, 2021, following an executive order by Joe Biden, the FBI started releasing a series of redacted documents which were related to alleged links of Saudi officials to 9/11 attacks, over a period of six months.
The document asserted that Omar al-Bayoumi was a frequent visitor to the Saudi Consulate in Los Angeles who had provided "significant logistical support" and financial assistance to 9/11 hijackers Nawaf al-Hazmi and Khalid al-Mihdhar upon their arrival in the US.
[26] The United States Justice Department admitted on March 10 that it would miss a deadline specified by President Joe Biden's executive order to examine and reveal records from the FBI's investigation into the attack.
[28] In response, 9/11 Commission chairman and former New Jersey governor Tom Kean said that "If that's true I'd be upset by it", adding, "The FBI said it wasn't withholding anything and we believed them.
[30] Relatives of victims have tried to use the courts to hold Saudi royals, banks, or charities responsible, but these efforts have been thwarted partly by the 1976 Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act.
[11] According to Gawdat Bahgat, a professor of political science, following the September 11 attacks the so-called "Saudi policy of promoting terrorism and funding hatred" faced strong criticism by several "influential policy-makers and think-tanks in Washington".