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9/11 investigation
As we honor those who died on September 11, many of their loved ones are still searching for closure. Nearly 25 years later, the military criminal trial and a civil wrongful death trial are still pending. FOX 13’s Craig Patrick reports.
TAMPA, Fla. - Bruce Eagleson raised his sons to put others before themselves. On the morning of September 11, he led by that example.
A Son's Relentless Crusade
What we know:
After the second hijacked jet struck the South Tower of the World Trade Center, Bruce successfully escaped from the 17th floor and spoke with his family by phone to say he was safe. But instead of walking away, he recognized that others needed help getting down, and that first responders desperately needed the two-way radios stored in his office. He ran back up the stairs, saving a coworker's life before dying in the building's collapse.
"She told our family that my dad saved her life and it was because of his actions and his insistence that they get out of the building that she was alive today," his son Brett Eagleson said.
Brett was 15 years old when he lost his father. Today, his grief has evolved into a relentless crusade for justice. By demanding accountability, Brett and other 9/11 families have spent years fighting to uncover classified intelligence that the U.S. government kept hidden from the American public for a quarter-century.
The Stalled Military Tribunal
The families' push for transparency comes as the criminal justice system effectively remains in limbo. While Osama bin Laden and several key al-Qaeda figures are dead, the judicial process for the remaining accused architects of the attacks is stalled.
The military tribunal at Guantánamo Bay for accused ringleader Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and others has been bogged down for years in evidentiary disputes regarding whether the CIA obtained its evidence illegally through torture. The Pentagon recently canceled controversial plea deals that had been struck with the defendants, and families fear the accused could ultimately walk free if the evidence is thrown out.
Because the military route has stalled, the families' civil lawsuit in New York has become the primary vehicle for uncovering evidence.
Declassified: Explosive New Evidence
Through the civil discovery process, the families' legal team has unearthed long-buried secrets that connect the hijackers to elements of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
The evidence includes a video recorded prior to the attacks by Omar al-Bayoumi. The FBI had identified al-Bayoumi as a paid operative of Saudi government intelligence who had met with the future hijackers.
The families allege the video shows al-Bayoumi explicitly casing the U.S. Capitol—the intended target of United Airlines Flight 93, which ultimately crashed in a Pennsylvania field.
On the recording, al-Bayoumi is heard discussing the building's entrances, exits, and the overall plan, stating, "I will report in detail what is there... I will provide you with the results soon."
British authorities discovered the video while raiding al-Bayoumi's home in England following the attacks. During the raid, police also found a sketch of a jet featuring line-of-sight calculations and a mathematical algorithm that could be used to descend an aircraft to a point on the horizon.
The U.K. Government says it shared all this intelligence with the FBI in the aftermath of 9/11. Yet, the evidence remained hidden from the victims' families until provided by Britain in the discovery process of the civil litigation.
Connecting the Plot
Dig deeper:
The video is just one piece of a much larger puzzle the families are assembling in court. Eagleson and the 9/11 families point to several other pieces of evidence they claim will prove the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia provided material support to the hijackers:
- Moussaoui's Testimony: Zacarias Moussaoui, who previously admitted to helping plan the attacks, testified that high-ranking Saudi officials bankrolled the terror plot.
- The California Connection: A suspected Saudi intelligence officer signed an apartment lease for two of the hijackers in California a year before the attacks. Furthermore, a Saudi official aligned his travel to stay at the same hotel as one of the terrorists just days before 9/11.
- The FBI Conclusion: Stephen Moore, the FBI agent who led the 9/11 investigations in California, officially concluded that diplomatic and intelligence personnel of the Kingdom knowingly provided material support to the hijackers and facilitated the plot.
The Senator Who Saw the Secrets
The families' lawsuit was heavily inspired by the late Florida Senator Bob Graham. Before his death in 2024, Graham—who served as the Senate Intelligence Chair and Co-Chair of the congressional 9/11 investigation—viewed classified intelligence.
Graham consistently claimed that the September 11 attacks were secretly supported by the Saudi government. He asserted that Saudi royals wanted to appease bin Laden to prevent his al-Qaeda network from overthrowing them from within. Graham further alleged that successive U.S. presidents kept this intelligence classified to protect the diplomatic alliance with Saudi Arabia, ensuring the continued flow of oil and safeguarding U.S. military operations in the region.
What they're saying:
- Brett Eagleson on the UK video: "This is the same guy that is on video hosting the hijackers. 10 days after 9/11, our own FBI sees all this and somehow nobody talks about it. It gets missed... How does this evidence stay buried for 24 years?"
- Dennis McGinley, 9/11 Family Member: "Help us get the justice, the accountability, the transparency that not only we need, but that America needs."
- Brett Eagleson on Senator Bob Graham: "He has a special place in our story when this book is finally able to be written. And if it weren't for him, I don't believe we would be here today talking to you about the information that we've uncovered from the UK government."
- 9/11 Families United: > "The fight for hope and justice is finally here. The judge ruled we will have our day in court and this case will go to trial."
What's next:
The Saudi Arabian government is actively trying to get the civil lawsuit dismissed. The U.S. Court of Appeals is scheduled to hear the Kingdom's arguments on October 7th. If the families prevail and the case moves forward, they hope the court will officially schedule the trial for next year.
The Source: This investigative report by FOX 13 Chief Investigator Craig Patrick is based on civil court filings in New York, recently declassified FBI and UK intelligence documents, and testimonies from 9/11 family members Brett Eagleson and Dennis McGinley. Background information regarding the Saudi government's alleged involvement was sourced from interviews with the late Florida Senator Bob Graham. Information on the Guantánamo Bay military trials is based on current Pentagon proceedings.