Relatives of people killed on 9/11 used the Ground Zero memorial in New York City to challenge former presidents George W. Bush, Barack Obama and Joe Biden, accusing successive administrations of shielding Saudi Arabia rather than delivering answers to grieving families 25 years after the attacks.
Terry Strada, whose husband Tom Strada died on September 11, received applause as she alleged that Saudi Arabia had helped fuel “anti-American terrorism” and dispatched operatives who assisted the hijackers.
“And still we have no justice for the role that Saudi Arabia played in your murder,” she told those gathered.
Vice President JD Vance, along with the country’s living former presidents — including Bill Clinton — was seated only a short distance away during the memorial ceremony.
“For 25 years, administration after administration, including leaders in front of us here today, chose to protect the Saudis instead of standing with the 9/11 families,” Strada said. “They broke promises both public and private. It has been one betrayal after another.”
She said President Donald Trump still had an opportunity to reverse that course, calling on him to demand that Saudi officials “stop lying” and to insist that the kingdom cannot maintain a friendship with the United States while rejecting responsibility for its alleged involvement in the attacks.
Turning directly to Vance, Strada thanked the vice president for being there and asked him to take the families’ message back to Washington, urging him to support victims’ relatives and survivors.
A second family member, whose aunt Lisa Marie Terry was killed in the attacks, claimed that “for 25 years the Deep State has hidden the truth.” He appealed directly to Trump: “President Trump, you’re our last hope. Release the unredacted files that implicate Saudi Arabia while what’s left of the victims’ families are still alive to see it.”
Terry Strada, the widow of 9/11 victim Tom Strada, drew applause after accusing Saudi Arabia of promoting “anti-American terrorism” and sending agents to aid the hijackers.
Barack Obama was pictured alongside former First Lady Michelle Obama at the 9/11 memorial ceremony.
Vance and all the living former presidents sat feet away as she spoke at the memorial service
Biden picture above with former President George Bush at the 9/11 memorial ceremony
Another relative, who lost his aunt Lisa Marie Terry in the attacks, told the crowd that ‘for 25 years the Deep State has hidden the truth’
9/11 – THE 25TH ANNIVERSARY: READ ALL OUR COVERAGE
Trump was not at Ground Zero, instead attending a separate memorial service at the Pentagon.
The families are pressing the Trump administration to declassify records including phone logs purportedly belonging to Omar al-Bayoumi, a Saudi national the FBI identified in 2022 documents as an agent of Saudi intelligence.
Their decade-old lawsuit against the kingdom is now moving toward trial.
The White House said last week that Trump’s team is working to identify records responsive to the families’ request.
9/11 survivors and victim’s families have long accused the Saudi government of helping the hijackers, 15 of whom were Saudi nationals.
Saudi Arabia has denied any role in the attacks and has fought the families’ lawsuit in federal court for years.
Trump has maintained friendly relations with Saudi Arabia throughout his second term, inviting Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman last November, and is now asking Congress to sign off on a deal handing the kingdom nuclear enrichment technology.
The Saudis have let American forces use their bases to strike Iran during the war since February.
Trump has maintained friendly relations with Saudi Arabia throughout his second term, inviting Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman last November
Vance watches as the families of 9/11 victims honor the fallen in New York City
Thousands gathered in NYC on Friday on the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 attack to honor the victims
Trump, meanwhile, used his remarks at the Pentagon to tie the anniversary to the war with Iran, calling the regime the ‘world’s number one sponsor of terror.’
The president vowed that Iran ‘will never ever have a nuclear weapon’ and made no mention of Saudi Arabia.