hearings that, prior to September 11th, the FBI received "no reporting from any member of the Intelligence Community" that there is a presence in the United States.
It should be clear that this Joint Inquiry has made no final determinations as to the reliability or sufficiency of the information regarding these issues that we found contained in FBI and CIA documents. It was not the task of this Joint Inquiry to conduct the kind of extensive investigation that would be required to determined the true significance of any such alleged connections to the Saudi Government. On the one hand, it is possible that these kinds of connections could suggest, as indicated in a dated July 2, 2002, "incontrovertible evidence that there is support for these terrorists within the Saudi government." On the other hand, it is also possible that further investigation of these allegations could reveal legitimate, and innocent, explanations for these associations.
Given the serious national security implications of this information, however, the leadership of the Joint Inquiring is referring the staff's compilation of relevant information to both the FBI and the CIA for investigative review and appropriate investigative and intelligence action.
Possible Connections Between the September 11 Hijackers and Saudi Government Officials in the United States
In reviewing FBI documents and the CIA memorandum, the Joint Inquiry Staff has examined information suggesting that:
- One individual who provided assistance to Nawaf al-Hazmi and Khalid al-Mihdhar may be connected to the Saudi government. A second individual who may have been in contact with al-Hazmi and Al-Mihdhar also has ties to the Saudi government, including connections to the Saudi Ambassador to the United States. There is reporting in FBI files that persons have alleged that both of these individuals may be Saudi intelligence officers;
