BLUF:[Aljazeera] A redacted copy of a three-and-a-half page October 2012 FBI "update" about the investigation said that FBI agents had uncovered "evidence" that Fahad al-Thumairy, a cleric, and Omar al-Bayoumi, a suspected Saudi agent. had been "tasked" to assist two hijackers by another person whose name was blacked out. This prompted the lawyers for the families of the 9/11 victims to refer to this individual as "the third man".
Describing the request by the lawyers to depose that person under oath, Sanborn's declaration said in one instance that it involved "any and all records referring to or relating to Jarrah", according to Yahoo News.
This represented the first public confirmation that the so-called "third man" was an accredited Saudi diplomat. But all of the FBI evidence the agents had gathered about Mussaed Ahmed al-Jarrah and his communications about the two attackers remain under seal, the report said.
It is unclear how strong the evidence is against al-Jarrah, whose whereabouts remain unknown. But the disclosure appears likely to revive questions about Saudi Arabia's potential links to the 9/11 plot and highlights the extraordinary efforts by US government officials to prevent internal documents about the issue from becoming public, Yahoo News said.
"This shows there is a complete government cover-up of the Saudi involvement," Brett Eagleson, a spokesman for the families, told the news outlet. "This is a giant screw-up."
Yahoo News said it contacted the Department of Justice on Monday, but officials notified the court and withdrew the FBI's declaration from the public docket.
"The document was incorrectly filed in this case," the docket now reads, said the report.
Same story - The MAIL
'If you know the identity or the whereabouts of these two persons of interest, please contact your FBI Boston Office, Special Agent In Charge immediately.'