Omar al-Bayoumi’s 1999 Capitol Video: Why Was This Hidden?

Newly unsealed evidence has emerged—evidence that was in U.S. possession since 2001. A 1999 video taken by Omar al-Bayoumi, a Saudi national with known ties to two 9/11 hijackers, shows detailed surveillance of the U.S. Capitol building. The video, narrated in Arabic, was seized from Bayoumi’s UK apartment after the attacks and handed over to the FBI. But this video was never shown to FBI field agents, and it was never disclosed to the 9/11 Commission.

Why?

The Facts:

• Omar al-Bayoumi, living in the U.S. under a Saudi-funded student visa, recorded detailed footage of the Capitol in 1999, including entrances, exits, and security posts.
• His narration in Arabic includes lines like: “I am transmitting these scenes to you from the heart of the American capital, Washington,”
  “I will get over there,”
  “report to you in detail what is there.”
• The video was found during a post-9/11 raid of Bayoumi’s residence in the U.K. by British intelligence. It was given to the FBI in late 2001.
• It was not shared with the FBI San Diego field office, which was actively investigating the same hijackers Bayoumi had assisted.
• It was never presented to the 9/11 Commission, which was tasked with uncovering all relevant facts behind the attacks.
• U.S. intelligence now officially assesses that Bayoumi was a Saudi intelligence agent.
• In early 2000, Bayoumi helped 9/11 hijackers Nawaf al-Hazmi and Khalid al-Mihdhar settle in San Diego. He found their apartment, co-signed the lease, and introduced them to others in the local Saudi community.
• Hazmi and Mihdhar later hijacked Flight 77, which crashed into the Pentagon.

The Questions:

• Why was this tape never seen by the 9/11 Commission?
• Why did top FBI investigators never receive this evidence, despite Bayoumi being a known associate of the hijackers?
• Why did the U.S. government withhold this key piece of pre-attack surveillance?
• Who made the decision to suppress this evidence—and why?

This isn’t speculation. This is confirmed, hard evidence—hidden from the very people tasked with finding the truth.

As more court documents are unsealed in the 9/11 families’ lawsuit against Saudi Arabia, we are left asking: How much more was kept from the public and from the investigators?

If we’re ever going to uncover the full truth about 9/11, this kind of material cannot remain buried.