A newly unsealed video reveals that a suspected Saudi spy was filming the US Capitol and National Monument just months before al Qaeda officials decided which targets to hit during the September 11 terrorist attack. The video, obtained by CBS’s “60 Minutes,” shows Omar al-Bayoumi, an accused Saudi intelligence operative with close ties to two of the 9/11 hijackers, narrating footage from a 1999 trip he took to Washington, DC. While the US government has maintained that al Qaeda acted alone on September 11, retired FBI Agent Richard Lambert argues that the video serves as proof that the terror group had help.
Al-Bayoumi can be heard discussing a “plan” during the video, and investigators believe it could have helped al Qaeda decide some of its targets. They have long believed that Flight 93’s intended target was the US Capitol before passengers revolted against the hijackers, leading it to crash in a field in Pennsylvania. Another jet was crashed into the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, across the Potomac River from DC, while two planes hit the Twin Towers in Manhattan.
The video has raised questions about whether US officials have carefully studied the footage, which al-Bayoumi and the Saudi government have claimed was just a tourist tape. Former CIA Deputy Director Michael Morell told CBS’s “Face the Nation” that it was clear that al-Bayoumi was casing the Capitol in the “chilling video.” However, he added that he had not seen the video before the “60 Minutes” report and could not confirm if US officials had studied it.
Retired FBI Agent Ken Williams questioned why it took over 20 years for the video to surface after it was provided to the US following a British raid on Al-Bayoumi’s UK residence in 2001. The tape was unsealed last week in federal court during the case against the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Meanwhile, the FBI has declined to comment on the video and overall case, citing ongoing litigation.
