9/11 Families United Sends Letter to Former President Trump
Saudi-Funded Memorial Day Weekend Tournament Follows President Biden’s Release of Declassified Documents that Outline Saudi Involvement in September 11, 2001 Terrorist Attacks
Washington, D.C. – As former President Donald J. Trump prepares to host golfers in the Saudi-funded LIV Golf Tour at Trump National Golf Club, just 30 miles away from the Pentagon, on Memorial Day weekend, 9/11 Families United sent a letter last week to the former President describing the pain his business relationship with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is causing the 9/11 community.
The letter from 9/11 Families United National Chair Terry Strada, whose husband Tom was murdered in the World Trade Center’s North Tower, asked for a meeting with the President at his Virginia golf club ahead of this week’s event. To date, there has been no response from the former President or his campaign.
In her letter, Strada recounts personally meeting with President Trump in the Oval Office on September 11, 2019, and specifically discussing the U.S. intelligence investigative reports regarding the Kingdom and the 9/11 attacks. At that meeting the President promised to support the 9/11 community’s efforts to declassify thousands of government documents kept hidden from the American people. Yet, Strada notes that just days later, the Trump Administration reneged on that promise.
It was President Joe Biden who ultimately declassified those documents with Executive Order 14040 on September 3, 2021. The thousands of pages of government reports, most of which were not available to the 9/11 Commission for its 2004 report, further confirmed the role of Saudi government agents in the 9/11 attacks.
Strada concluded the letter by calling on President Trump to rethink his business relationship with the Kingdom given the personal pain it causes the 9/11 families who have been fighting for justice and accountability for more than 20 years. She points out that “the Saudis are willing to spend billions to ‘sportswash’ its horrific reputation and human rights record. According to federal court documents filed earlier this year, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund has generated virtually no revenue from its sponsorship of the LIV Golf League, despite spending over $784 million to bankroll its first season alone. That of course includes paying an unknown, but likely significant, amount of money to the Trump Organization to host its events.”
Full Text Of The Letter:
May 18, 2023
The Honorable Donald J. Trump
The Mar-a-Lago Club
1100 South Ocean Boulevard
Palm Beach, Florida 33480
Re: Saudi Arabia’s Role in the September 11 Attacks
Dear President Trump:
9/11 Families United is an organization of family members of those murdered in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, as well as injured survivors and those sickened from the attacks – a community of more than 10,000 Americans. We write today regarding our continued effort to secure justice and accountability against those individuals, entities, and states responsible for the barbaric attacks, including the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The Kingdom’s role in 9/11 is detailed in nearly 3,000 pages of declassified U.S. intelligence agency documents, including many released over the last 18 months.
We are requesting a meeting with you at Trump National Golf Club in Virginia next week to discuss this evidence withheld by the Government from the American people and not available to the 9/11 Commission. These documents lay bare facts surrounding the Kingdom’s culpability in murdering our loved ones. Your decision to maintain an ongoing business partnership with the Saudi government has been deeply hurtful to the 9/11 community.
We now know, core elements of the Saudi government, including the Ministry of Islamic Affairs, were deeply intertwined with al Qaeda in the decade leading up to the September 11, 2001 attacks, and provided al Qaeda with financial and logistical support that enabled them to plan and carry out their mission. At least seven Saudi government agents were implicated in the FBI’s investigation of the support network for the first arriving hijackers, many of whom had other connections to al Qaeda and terrorism.
We believe it’s important to discuss this information with you not only as a declared candidate for President of the United States, but after what appears to be some confusion on your part with the Kingdom’s role in the worst terrorist attack on American soil.
As you will recall, in defending your decision to partner with the Saudis and host a Saudi-backed LIV Golf event at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster last year, you told ESPN, “Nobody has gotten to the bottom of 9/11 unfortunately.” You then went on to tell the Wall Street Journal, “I don’t know much about the 9/11 families.”
We would like to give you an opportunity to correct the public record on what appears to have been a misstatement, given that many of us, myself included, personally met with you in the White House on September 11, 2019. We specifically discussed the U.S. intelligence investigative reports regarding the Kingdom and the 9/11 attacks. Perhaps to help you recall our meeting, I am enclosing a picture with you and the First Lady, along with my daughter Kaitlyn and me. Kaitlyn’s father, my husband Tom, was just 41 years old when he was murdered on the 101st floor of One World Trade Center. Her younger brother Justin was just four days old.
At that meeting, you made a clear promise to us that you would declassify and finally release the thousands of pages of government records (to the greatest extent possible) related to the Kingdom’s role in the attacks. Unfortunately, though, as you may recall, your Administration then immediately reneged on that promise with then-Attorney General Barr notifying us just days later stating that the documents would remain a government secret, denying us our opportunity to learn the truth. Your White House made no further effort to follow up with the 9/11 community, despite our repeated requests.
Now, the Saudis are willing to spend billions to “sportswash” its horrific reputation and human rights record. According to federal court documents filed earlier this year, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund has generated virtually no revenue from its sponsorship of the LIV Golf League, despite spending over $784 million to bankroll its first season alone. That of course includes paying an unknown, but likely significant, amount of money to the Trump Organization to host its events.
Your decision to continue a business relationship with the Saudis is all the more painful given what we have learned from the thousands of pages of FBI and CIA documents that were finally declassified by your successor, President Biden. These documents confirmed that the Saudi government established a vast and secret platform for the Ministry of Islamic Affairs to operate under official and unofficial cover from within the United States, and that clerics deployed by the Saudi government to the U.S. as part of this illegal initiative had extensive and direct ties to notorious terrorists and jihadists.
Mr. President, you are under no obligation today whatsoever to work with the Kingdom. In fact, you are well-positioned to leverage the lessons learned to set yourself apart from others that continue to work with Riyadh and its agents. We believe that through a private dialogue our community can help you better appreciate the self-inflicted harm to your legacy, your reputation, and your campaign that comes from a continued financial association with the Saudi government and Saudi officials.
We look forward to your prompt response to our request and hope to meet with you in Virginia next week.
Sincerely,
Terry Strada, National Chair
9/11 Families United
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