(NewsNation) — The wife of a 9/11 victim says a federal lawsuit against Saudi Arabia over alleged ties to the hijackers is the families’ “last chance for justice” regarding the 2001 attacks.
Terry Strada, whose husband Tom was killed at the World Trade Center, said Tuesday on NewsNation’s “Elizabeth Vargas Reports” that the new evidence, including videotapes and drawings found in a Saudi intelligence agent’s apartment, supports the contention Saudi officials were complicit.
“It is our last chance for justice,” said Strada, national chair of 9/11 Families United. “It is extremely important that the American people know who was behind murdering 3,000 Americans on American soil.”
The evidence allegedly shows the flight trajectory a hijacker pilot could see while approaching the U.S. Capitol. It also links two Saudi officials to providing the first hijackers to arrive in the U.S. with money, housing, cars, and driver’s licenses and signing them up for flying lessons.
Strada alleges these two Saudi officials had close ties to the Saudi embassy in Washington, D.C., and were running an “anti-American, pro-jihadist program” inside the Saudi embassy’s Ministry of Islamic Affairs.
Fifteen of the 19 hijackers were from Saudi Arabia, and all were members of Al Qaeda, then led by Osama bin Laden, who was born in Saudi Arabia and whose family had close ties to the Saudi royal family.
The Saudi government says it was simply helping new Saudi citizens arriving in the U.S. adjust, which Strada calls “garbage.”
Saudi Arabia rejects any connection to the attacks, but Strada said the kingdom refuses to address the evidence in court.
“If you’re so innocent, you have nothing to hide, then come in and show what you have,” she said.
Rather than defending its innocence in court with evidence, Strada says Saudi Arabia refuses to “meet us on the merits” and doesn’t want the families’ evidence to “see the light of day.”
Congress passed a law in 2016 allowing the families’ lawsuit to proceed. Strada urged lawmakers to back additional legislation to prevent the suit’s dismissal.
A federal judge is expected to rule on the lawsuit on whether to release the key piece of evidence. If the judge lets the case move forward, the videos could be used in investigations into Al Qaeda cells in the U.S.
NewsNation’s Joe Khalil contributed to this report.