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Saudi Spies Fingered With Connections To 9/11 hijackers

Aired August 02, 2003 - 14:01   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


FREDERICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Well, for days, people have been wondering what might be in those 28 classified pages of congress's 9/11 report. Well, today perhaps an answer, a newspaper report suggests a possible role by Saudi spies in the hijackings. The article appears in the "New York Times" co written by James Risen, and he is also the author of the new book "The Main Enemy," and he joins us now from New York. All right good to see you.
JAMES RISEN, "NEW YORK TIMES": Hi, how are you?

WHITFIELD: Well, have you had a chance to see this portion, what has been a classified portion of the report or getting this information from other sources.

RISEN: We're getting it from other sources primarily, people who have read the report and described the details of it.

WHITFIELD: And what are they saying in particular?

RISEN: Well, they're describing that the primary focus of the redacted part of the report, the most politically sensitive part of it, relates to two Saudi operatives in San Diego, both of whom congressional officials believe were Saudi intelligence agents. Omar al-Bayoumi and Osama Basnan (ph), both of them had indirect ties to the two hijackers.

Mr. Bayoumi directly aided the hijackers when they moved into the United States and gave them some money to start off when they settled in San Diego, and Mr. Bassnan had a very close relationship with Mr. Bayoumi and he was also receiving money from the Saudi government.

Mr. Bayoumi had a ghost job at an aviation contract company that was doing business with the Saudi government and the payments he was receiving from that job which he never showed up for suddenly increased after he came until contact with the two hijackers in San Diego.

WHITFIELD: Now, all along, Saudi officials have been saying, even pressing the administration, saying they wanted that information declassified. Also, separating that country from any potential dealings with the hijackers. Might their tune be changed now that this is being reported?

RISEN: I think they have a point, which is that, what's in the redacted section may not be quite as damaging to them as some people have thought because I don't believe that it contains any what we would call a smoking gun linking definitively the Saudi government to the hijackings. But it raises a lot of questions and much of the redacted part deals with criticism of the FBI for failing to fully investigate these connections. And to -- and the fact that they've never really gone aggressively after Mr. Bayoumi to try and get his whole story.

WHITFIELD: Does it also raise a lot of questions as to whether there are other Saudi spies that may potentially bring harm or could potentially bring harm to the U.S.?

RISEN: It focuses primarily on these two men and on Imam who was very close to the two hijackers in San Diego and moved more or less with them to Virginia right outside Washington in the year before the hijackings. And his role and his possible connections to Saudi Arabia also raise a lot of questions.

And so those three people are really the center of the redacted part of the report. In addition to some discussion of charities and the ties to the royal family to charities that have funded terrorism.

WHITFIELD: All right, James Risen, thanks very much, of the "New York Times". Thanks for joining us.

RISEN: Your welcome.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com







Aired August 2, 2003 - 14:01   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDERICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Well, for days, people have been wondering what might be in those 28 classified pages of congress's 9/11 report. Well, today perhaps an answer, a newspaper report suggests a possible role by Saudi spies in the hijackings. The article appears in the "New York Times" co written by James Risen, and he is also the author of the new book "The Main Enemy," and he joins us now from New York. All right good to see you.
JAMES RISEN, "NEW YORK TIMES": Hi, how are you?

WHITFIELD: Well, have you had a chance to see this portion, what has been a classified portion of the report or getting this information from other sources.

RISEN: We're getting it from other sources primarily, people who have read the report and described the details of it.

WHITFIELD: And what are they saying in particular?

RISEN: Well, they're describing that the primary focus of the redacted part of the report, the most politically sensitive part of it, relates to two Saudi operatives in San Diego, both of whom congressional officials believe were Saudi intelligence agents. Omar al-Bayoumi and Osama Basnan (ph), both of them had indirect ties to the two hijackers.

Mr. Bayoumi directly aided the hijackers when they moved into the United States and gave them some money to start off when they settled in San Diego, and Mr. Bassnan had a very close relationship with Mr. Bayoumi and he was also receiving money from the Saudi government.

Mr. Bayoumi had a ghost job at an aviation contract company that was doing business with the Saudi government and the payments he was receiving from that job which he never showed up for suddenly increased after he came until contact with the two hijackers in San Diego.

WHITFIELD: Now, all along, Saudi officials have been saying, even pressing the administration, saying they wanted that information declassified. Also, separating that country from any potential dealings with the hijackers. Might their tune be changed now that this is being reported?

RISEN: I think they have a point, which is that, what's in the redacted section may not be quite as damaging to them as some people have thought because I don't believe that it contains any what we would call a smoking gun linking definitively the Saudi government to the hijackings. But it raises a lot of questions and much of the redacted part deals with criticism of the FBI for failing to fully investigate these connections. And to -- and the fact that they've never really gone aggressively after Mr. Bayoumi to try and get his whole story.

WHITFIELD: Does it also raise a lot of questions as to whether there are other Saudi spies that may potentially bring harm or could potentially bring harm to the U.S.?

RISEN: It focuses primarily on these two men and on Imam who was very close to the two hijackers in San Diego and moved more or less with them to Virginia right outside Washington in the year before the hijackings. And his role and his possible connections to Saudi Arabia also raise a lot of questions.

And so those three people are really the center of the redacted part of the report. In addition to some discussion of charities and the ties to the royal family to charities that have funded terrorism.

WHITFIELD: All right, James Risen, thanks very much, of the "New York Times". Thanks for joining us.

RISEN: Your welcome.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com