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Evidence has emerged that could change our understanding of the 9/11 terrorist attacks nearly 24 years ago.
The evidence was turned over to the FBI in the weeks after 9/11, but, as we first reported in April, it was never shared with the bureau's own field agents or top intelligence officials. Why after all these years did this crucial information just surface?
The evidence came to light as part of a long-running lawsuit against the Saudi government by the families of the nearly 3,000 people killed in the attacks, and it includes a chilling video of a Saudi national filming the U.S. Capitol.
A voice on the video says in Arabic, "I am transmitting these scenes to you from the heart of the American capital, Washington."
This video, recorded in the summer of 1999, was unsealed in federal court last year as part of the 9/11 families lawsuit accusing Saudi Arabia of providing crucial support to the hijackers.
Exhibit A in their case: the man who made the video, Omar al-Bayoumi – who asked a bystander to film him in front of the Capitol.
The FBI says Bayoumi was living in the United States on a student visa and being paid by a Saudi aviation company in California – despite not showing up for classes or work. Investigators say, in fact, Bayoumi was an operative of the Saudi intelligence service and had close ties to two of the hijackers.
The video was filmed over several days.
Bayoumi recorded entrances and exits of the Capitol, security posts, a model of the building, and nearby landmarks.
Bayoumi points out the Washington monument and says, "I will get over there," and "report to you in detail what is there."
He also notes the airport is not far away.
Richard Lambert: What I see Bayoumi doing is going out and making a detailed video record of the Capitol from all its sides, and then conducting that 360 degree panoramic view.
Richard Lambert and Cecilia Vega 60 Minutes
Richard Lambert is a retired FBI supervisor who led the initial 9/11 investigation in San Diego, where Bayoumi and the two hijackers lived prior to the attacks. He's now a consultant on the case filed by the 9/11 families.
Richard Lambert: If you've ever flown into Washington D.C., one of the first things you see on the horizon is the Washington Monument. So, if you know where your other targets are, it helps guide you to your intended target.
Federal investigators believe the hijackers on Flight 93, which crashed near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, planned to hit the U.S. Capitol as their likely target. In the video, Bayoumi references a, quote, "plan."
Richard Lambert: "You said that in the plan." What plan?
Cecilia Vega: What do you think he's talking about?
Richard Lambert: I think he's talking to the al Qaeda planners who tasked him to take the pre-operational surveillance video of the intended target.
Cecilia Vega: So, this video is taken in late June and early July of 1999. What does that timing tell you?
Richard Lambert: Well, that means it was taken within 90 days of the time when senior al Qaeda planners reached the decision that the Capitol would be a target of the 9/11 attacks.
That's when Osama bin Laden decided to approve the so-called "planes operation" proposed by Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the mastermind of 9/11.
During a raid on Bayoumi's U.K. apartment about 10 days after the attacks, British police discovered the Capitol video, along with about 80 other tapes and a trove of documents now being used as evidence in the families' lawsuit. This internal FBI report, dated Oct. 11, 2001, shows that "copies of all recovered exhibits" were "sent to FBI-New York via Federal Express," but the Capitol video never made it to the San Diego field office.
Danny Gonzalez: I had not seen that video.
Retired FBI special agent Danny Gonzalez, one of the lead 9/11 investigators in San Diego, says he never knew about the video during the 15 years he worked on the case. He is also a consultant for the 9/11 families' lawsuit.
Retired FBI special agent Danny Gonzalez 60 Minutes
Danny Gonzalez: Not only did I not know, all of the case agents in San Diego didn't know, and the case agents in New York didn't know. And we're talking about the Joint Terrorism Task Forces that not only have F.B.I., but we have other state, local, and federal agencies, they did not know either.
Cecilia Vega: How is that possible?
Danny Gonzalez: I don't have that answer, and that-- that angers me. When I saw that video, I knew exactly what it was.
Cecilia Vega: Did you need this information to do your job?
Danny Gonzalez: Absolutely.
He believes he could've used the Capitol video to build a case against Bayoumi.
Danny Gonzalez: I would've taken it to the United States Attorney's Office–who was requesting from us, the F.B.I.--anything that we had they wanted to look at.
Cecilia Vega: Meaning what? That they would have filed charges? That they would have indicted? What were you hoping that would be?
Danny Gonzalez: It was a terror investigation, but it was also a mass murder.
Cecilia Vega: In your view, this video was so significant that it should've gone all the way to the top to the White House?
Gina Bennett: I think it should have because it's the Capitol building.
Gina Bennett was a senior counterterrorism analyst at the CIA for 20 years.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/recent...11-evidence-60-minutes-transcript-2025-08-24/
The evidence was turned over to the FBI in the weeks after 9/11, but, as we first reported in April, it was never shared with the bureau's own field agents or top intelligence officials. Why after all these years did this crucial information just surface?
The evidence came to light as part of a long-running lawsuit against the Saudi government by the families of the nearly 3,000 people killed in the attacks, and it includes a chilling video of a Saudi national filming the U.S. Capitol.
A voice on the video says in Arabic, "I am transmitting these scenes to you from the heart of the American capital, Washington."
This video, recorded in the summer of 1999, was unsealed in federal court last year as part of the 9/11 families lawsuit accusing Saudi Arabia of providing crucial support to the hijackers.
Exhibit A in their case: the man who made the video, Omar al-Bayoumi – who asked a bystander to film him in front of the Capitol.
The FBI says Bayoumi was living in the United States on a student visa and being paid by a Saudi aviation company in California – despite not showing up for classes or work. Investigators say, in fact, Bayoumi was an operative of the Saudi intelligence service and had close ties to two of the hijackers.
The video was filmed over several days.
Bayoumi recorded entrances and exits of the Capitol, security posts, a model of the building, and nearby landmarks.
Bayoumi points out the Washington monument and says, "I will get over there," and "report to you in detail what is there."
He also notes the airport is not far away.
Richard Lambert: What I see Bayoumi doing is going out and making a detailed video record of the Capitol from all its sides, and then conducting that 360 degree panoramic view.
Richard Lambert is a retired FBI supervisor who led the initial 9/11 investigation in San Diego, where Bayoumi and the two hijackers lived prior to the attacks. He's now a consultant on the case filed by the 9/11 families.
Richard Lambert: If you've ever flown into Washington D.C., one of the first things you see on the horizon is the Washington Monument. So, if you know where your other targets are, it helps guide you to your intended target.
Federal investigators believe the hijackers on Flight 93, which crashed near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, planned to hit the U.S. Capitol as their likely target. In the video, Bayoumi references a, quote, "plan."
Richard Lambert: "You said that in the plan." What plan?
Cecilia Vega: What do you think he's talking about?
Richard Lambert: I think he's talking to the al Qaeda planners who tasked him to take the pre-operational surveillance video of the intended target.
Cecilia Vega: So, this video is taken in late June and early July of 1999. What does that timing tell you?
Richard Lambert: Well, that means it was taken within 90 days of the time when senior al Qaeda planners reached the decision that the Capitol would be a target of the 9/11 attacks.
That's when Osama bin Laden decided to approve the so-called "planes operation" proposed by Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the mastermind of 9/11.
During a raid on Bayoumi's U.K. apartment about 10 days after the attacks, British police discovered the Capitol video, along with about 80 other tapes and a trove of documents now being used as evidence in the families' lawsuit. This internal FBI report, dated Oct. 11, 2001, shows that "copies of all recovered exhibits" were "sent to FBI-New York via Federal Express," but the Capitol video never made it to the San Diego field office.
Danny Gonzalez: I had not seen that video.
Retired FBI special agent Danny Gonzalez, one of the lead 9/11 investigators in San Diego, says he never knew about the video during the 15 years he worked on the case. He is also a consultant for the 9/11 families' lawsuit.
Danny Gonzalez: Not only did I not know, all of the case agents in San Diego didn't know, and the case agents in New York didn't know. And we're talking about the Joint Terrorism Task Forces that not only have F.B.I., but we have other state, local, and federal agencies, they did not know either.
Cecilia Vega: How is that possible?
Danny Gonzalez: I don't have that answer, and that-- that angers me. When I saw that video, I knew exactly what it was.
Cecilia Vega: Did you need this information to do your job?
Danny Gonzalez: Absolutely.
He believes he could've used the Capitol video to build a case against Bayoumi.
Danny Gonzalez: I would've taken it to the United States Attorney's Office–who was requesting from us, the F.B.I.--anything that we had they wanted to look at.
Cecilia Vega: Meaning what? That they would have filed charges? That they would have indicted? What were you hoping that would be?
Danny Gonzalez: It was a terror investigation, but it was also a mass murder.
Cecilia Vega: In your view, this video was so significant that it should've gone all the way to the top to the White House?
Gina Bennett: I think it should have because it's the Capitol building.
Gina Bennett was a senior counterterrorism analyst at the CIA for 20 years.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/recent...11-evidence-60-minutes-transcript-2025-08-24/
