Within days of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people, FBI agents identified Omar al-Bayoumi, a Saudi graduate student in the U.S. who had helped two known al-Qaida hijackers in San Diego the previous year. Bayoumi was arrested in Birmingham, England, at the FBI’s request, and a search of his home and office uncovered materials that raised questions about his connection to the hijackers. However, much of the evidence collected from Bayoumi was later sent to the FBI, and its fate and how it was used remain unclear. Bayoumi was questioned by British police but released and later returned to Saudi Arabia. For years, the FBI maintained that he was not a suspect, claiming he had met the hijackers by chance and had helped them unknowingly. However, evidence recently submitted in a federal lawsuit by families of 9/11 victims challenges these claims. The documents show that Bayoumi had close ties to Saudi religious leaders and was an asset for Saudi intelligence. He also worked with clerics later connected to al-Qaida, contradicting his earlier assertions of innocence and the FBI’s portrayal of him as a friendly, pro-American individual. Advocates for the families of 9/11 victims have criticized the Justice Department for not addressing the fate of the Bayoumi evidence and for not pursuing other potential Saudi connections. They have also raised concerns about the Trump administration’s commitment to investigating possible Saudi involvement in the attacks. The White House responded by stating that President Trump is leading the most transparent administration in history and is working to locate relevant records. The Justice Department declined to comment, citing that many officials involved in the early 9/11 investigation no longer work for the government. The FBI’s handling of Bayoumi’s evidence has brought attention to the broader question of Saudi connections to the 9/11 plot. In January 2000, two hijackers, Nawaf al-Hazmi and Khalid al-Mihdhar, entered the U.S. using their real names and Saudi passports, which allowed them to avoid detection. The FBI had previously investigated Bayoumi in 1998 after neighbors reported suspicious activity at his apartment, but the case was closed after six months with no criminal charges. Bayoumi later claimed he met the hijackers by chance and helped them rent an apartment and financially support them, but FBI agents who questioned him in England said they were not given full information about his prior investigation or the materials seized from his home, which included documents, videos, and a diagram of an airplane’s trajectory. Declassified FBI documents show that Bayoumi’s evidence was sent to the FBI’s New York Field Office, but the agency’s new director, Robert Mueller, ordered the 9/11 case to be managed from Washington, D.C. As a result, the materials obtained from Bayoumi were not widely shared, and the San Diego FBI office reviewed only a small portion of the items, finding little investigative value. FBI officials, including Mueller and Jacqueline Maguire, who led the investigation into the hijackers of American Airlines Flight 77, stated that Bayoumi’s meeting with the hijackers was a random encounter and that he had no knowledge of their true intentions. However, some agents, including Daniel Gonzalez, who led Operation Encore, a follow-up investigation, believed Bayoumi and others had knowingly assisted the hijackers. Gonzalez and his team faced resistance from FBI headquarters and were often hindered in their efforts. In 2007, Gonzalez learned of two witnesses who confirmed the hijackers had visited the King Fahd Mosque and met with Imam Fahad al-Thumairy, contradicting Bayoumi’s account. Despite this, the FBI maintained that there was no evidence of a support network. In 2014, a review panel found no new information to revise the 9/11 Commission’s conclusion that there was no “witting assistance” to the hijackers. In 2016, the FBI reassigned Operation Encore and disbanded the team investigating the case. Memos later revealed that Bayoumi had been paid a monthly stipend by Saudi intelligence services between the late 1990s and September 11, 2001. These documents were classified during the Trump administration but were made public in 2022 under Biden’s executive order. Former agents have questioned why this information was not available earlier.