Editorial: Mr. President, stand with 9/11 families [+letter]

The families of casualties want one thing justice They are fighting in a Manhattan federal court for permission to sue Saudi Arabia Yes permission is required because a judge must now decide whether the incident can continue They want someone to listen to them about all that went horribly wrong on Sept and they re asking President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance to help them The appeal comes as the president lands in the Middle East currently It has been nearly twenty-four years since of our loved ones including our parents spouses children siblings friends and neighbors were brutally murdered in the worst terrorist attack in American history Brett Eagleson writes to the president in a letter he shared with the Herald You have a chance to do what Presidents Bush Obama and Biden did not he tells the two leaders You can stand with families and demand that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia extradite Omar al-Bayoumi to face justice in an American courtroom That would be a powerful report and the first real step toward closure in more than two decades The Herald has covered Eagleson s crusade and we will continue to do so to the very end He and all the other kin deserve nothing less The Herald will never forget because that s how we think There s hardly ever an end when you lose a loved one to violence or a few other tragedy But there s an opportunity sometimes to learn from the mistakes That s all this young man who lost his dad at the Twin Towers in New York City is asking for If America can go to war over the terror attacks why can t these loved ones seek justice in a court We are especially concerned that while families continue to wait for justice the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is gaining greater influence From your upcoming state visit to fresh Oval Office meetings with LIV Golf and the PGA Tour it is clear that Saudi Arabia is at the table Eagleson writes to the president and vice president The Israel-Gaza war ceasefire talks oil exchange financing deals and the prospective for new program developments in the areas of advanced semiconductor exports and nuclear programs are all on the agenda CNBC reports We re urging the president to add one more topic the extradition of Omar al-Bayoumi Al Bayoumi was seen on video casing the Capitol in the summer of pointing out Congress the Washington Monument the skyline and jotting down in a notebook a formula to calculate the rate of descent He was on a scholar visa and has long since returned to the kingdom The Commission was never aware of this evidence and it is now part of the lawsuit Eagleson is party to The Saudi establishment has stated no cabinet administrators senior or otherwise gave any direction to Omar Al Bayoumi to assist hijackers Any contact the Saudis add was innocent motives to help fellow Saudis new to San Diego Of all the hijackers of them were citizens of Saudi Arabia They were all affiliated with al Qaeda and hijacked four jets It s a day we will never forget We join in Brett Eagleson s request for justice