Members of the families of the September 11 victims, who’ve just accomplished their lawsuit against Saudi Arabia, are criticizing the Biden administration's decision to barter a cope with terror mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and two accomplices.
“This is shitty timing. It's just another attempt to wrap up 9/11, put it in a box and make it disappear,” said Brett Eagleson, who was 15 when his father, Bruce, died working on the Twin Towers on 9/11.
Eagleson spoke to the Herald shortly after leaving a Manhattan federal court where relatives of the Sept. 11 victims faced Saudi officials on Wednesday, saying it was “about time” for the reality to finally come out. The case includes 1,424 documents which have been collected and filed with the court.
The lawyers representing hundreds of families – including many from Massachusetts – are fighting to have the case against the dominion heard before a judge in Manhattan. Their lawyers argue that the 9/11 Commission was unaware of the extent of alleged Saudi involvement with the California hijackers it uncovered.
“It is time to bring the truth to light. To reveal the truth,” Eagleson said immediately after the trial.
The judge within the federal case has taken the matter into deliberation. He must resolve whether the case can proceed to further discovery.
But lower than an hour later, it was announced that Mohammed and his fellow al-Qaeda killers would escape the death penalty.
The The Ministry of Defense announced Late Wednesday evening, it was reported that the US had “reached pre-trial agreements with Khalid Shaikh Mohammad, Walid Muhammad Salih Mubarak Bin 'Attash and Mustafa Ahmed Adam al Hawsawi, three of the co-defendants in the 9/11 case.”
All three are expected to submit their confessions to the military commission at Cuba's Guantanamo Bay as early as next week, the Associated Press reported.
“This is a failure of justice,” said Debra Burlingame, whose brother was certainly one of the pilots killed on September 11 – almost 23 years ago. “The American people have a right to know how much this all cost. Billions are at stake. This trial. But it's not about money, it's about political injustice.”
On September 11, 2001, the hijackers killed 2,976 people – including two planes that took off from Logan International Airport that sunny morning.
Burlingame's brother, Charles “Chic” Burlingame III, was the pilot of American Airlines Flight 77, which was hijacked from Washington Dulles International Airport in Dulles, Virginia, on September 11 and flown into the Pentagon.
Eagleson said the trial was “overwhelming at times,” however the legal team representing the families of the Sept. 11 victims who’re still awaiting their day in court was “filled with pride.”
He thanks the British authorities for obtaining “incredible” evidence and the retired FBI agents for his or her support of the families of the September 11 victims who haven’t given up looking for justice after the brutal jet attacks on New York City, the Pentagon and Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
“This is all information that our own government has denied us access to,” Eagleson said. “The 9/11 Commission didn’t have the luxury of knowing all this.”
Nevertheless, he was shaken when he felt his euphoria in court and was subsequently shocked to be offered a deal.
“Why didn't anyone talk to us about this first? This is a shitty end to a great day,” he added, saying the case concerns all those that can not defend themselves: “The lawyers argued for my father and for all the people who died.”
Fifteen of the 19 September 11 attackers were Saudis.
“The kingdom and its lawyers know that the dam is breaking and that this may be their last chance to avoid a trial that would force it to defend the indefensible – its financial and logistical support of al-Qaeda and the 9/11 terrorists who killed my husband and thousands of other Americans,” said 9/11 Families United National Chairman Terry Strada.
She added: “The Kingdom's lawyers have tried everything possible to convince the court, but they have only succeeded in satisfying their financiers. The court must reject the motion to dismiss the case and continue the trial.”
Originally published:
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