(MEMO) — Michael Kellogg, a lawyer hired by Saudi Arabia, has asked the American judge tasked with the case looking into the Kingdom’s involvement in the 9/11 attacks in US in 2001 to drop any lawsuits linking the Kingdom to the attacks.
The request was made during the local hearings in Manhattan, New York investigating the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, according to Bloomberg.
Kellogg told the US District Judge George Daniels at the start of the hearing, which lasted all day yesterday, that “conclusions, speculation, hearsay, are not enough” to link Saudi Arabia to the attacks.
He also said there is no evidence of Saudi Arabia’s involvement or support of Al-Qaeda.
He argued that the victims have not provided any evidence to back their cases and “reports from the 9/11 Commission, FBI, CIA and 9/11 Review Commission found no proof Saudi Arabia backed the attacks”.
Lawyers for the 9/11 victims and their families claim Saudi Arabia directed money through its charities to the terrorist group. They supported their case with sworn statements from two former FBI officials and former Florida senator Bob Graham, an ex-chairman of the Select Committee on Intelligence, in which they provide their opinions that Saudi officials in the US provided support to two of the 11 September hijackers.
The judge has not yet issued is decision on whether the lawsuit against Saudi Arabia will continue to be pursued or dropped. However, Associate Press hinted at the possibility of Daniels pursuing the lawsuit.
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