Fox News Bret Baier spoke with Saudi leader Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman this evening and, to Baier’s credit, asked some pointed questions to which MBS – as he is known – responded to his turn with degrees of franchise and deviation.
Among them, questions about the 2 billion dollars that the Kingdom would have invested with Jared Kushner shortly after the departure of Donald Trump, the assassination of Jamal Khashoggi, the normalization of ties with Israel, LIV Golf, Russia and, perhaps -most important to many Americans, Saudi Arabia. the government’s role in the September 11 attacks.
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“Recently in the United States we commemorated the 22nd anniversary of the September 11 attacks,” Baier began. “As you know, 15 of the 19 hijackers were Saudis, and the families of the 9/11 victims, you know, are making their feelings clear, especially as the anniversary approaches, saying that They believe there is intelligence that somehow links the Saudi government to supporting or facilitating these hijackers. What do you say to these 9/11 families 22 years later ?
Salman replied, “Well, I am very sorry for anyone to lose all their family members. No one wants to lose their family, especially in such a way. Yes, there are 15 Saudis and this is planned by Osama bin Laden, it is well known.
He then argued that Saudi Arabia and the United States had been victims of bin Laden’s attacks, and that if Americans believed the Saudi government was behind 9/11, then “bin Laden had succeeded in his plan” to tarnish relations between the two countries.
“Osama bin Laden is also planned for numerous attacks in Saudi Arabia. So it makes no sense to work with the one who committed terrorist attacks in Saudi Arabia in the 90s. And after that, kill Saudis and foreigners at that time in Saudi Arabia. It is our enemy and it is the American enemy. The main attempt against Osama bin Laden — and this is what the reports say — was to prove as much as she could. He convinced the Saudis to create a problem between America and Saudi Arabia. So if the Americans fail in this, it means that bin Laden succeeded in his plan.”
In a statement this evening in response to the Fox News interview, 9/11 Families United argued that Saudi Arabia is blocking access to 9/11-related government documents that have still not been made public.
“…right now, the Kingdom’s high-priced lawyers are aggressively fighting the families of the 9/11 victims in federal court to prevent us from using this documentary evidence against them. They also objected to the production of their own documents, the questioning of witnesses, and asked the court to prohibit us from seeking evidence from the FBI regarding its investigation of Saudi government agents.
Earlier this year, ProPublica reported that lawyers for the families of the 9/11 victims argued in court that new evidence released last year by the FBI so radically contradicted Saudi claims about the attack that the families of the September 11 victims should be allowed to reopen the investigation to seek information. of the country’s intelligence service. So far, the judge in the case has not been convinced.
The Saudi government has filed a motion to dismiss the case. Arguments on that could be heard this fall.
Editor’s note: Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund acquired a minority stake in Deadline owner PMC in 2018.
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