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THE DAILY MIS-LEAD
< http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=1675067&l=36308 > ===============================

STONEWALLING ON BIN LADEN/SAUDI FLIGHTS AFTER 9/11

With questions swirling about who authorized allowing relatives of Osama bin Laden to fly out of the country immediately after 9/11, The Hill newspaper is reporting that President Bush is "refusing to answer repeated requests by the September 11 commission" about the matter [1].

Last year, Secretary of State Colin Powell acknowledged that, even as all foreign and domestic flights were grounded after 9/11, the bin Ladens and other wealthy Saudis were allowed to fly out of the United States. He said that "the flights were well-known and it was coordinated within the government" [2].

Yet now, even as White House officials claim that "the [P]resident has fully cooperated with this commission in an unprecedented way" [3], the panel vice chairman Lee Hamilton disclosed that the Administration is refusing to answer any questions on the subject -- even in closed-door meetings with Senators [4]. The President is also still refusing to release 28 pages of the bipartisan 9/11 congressional report about the Saudi Government. That report is known to "depict a Saudi government that not only provided significant money and aid to the suicide hijackers but also allowed potentially hundreds of millions of dollars to flow to Al Qaeda" [5]. Some of that money may have even flowed through Riggs Bank [6], where the President's uncle [7] (and major fundraiser [8]) is a top executive. Nonetheless, the President continues to refer to the Saudi government as "our friend" [9].

Sources:
1. "Who let bin Ladens leave U.S.?", The Hill, 05/18/2004,
http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=1675067&l=36309.
2. Interview on NBC's Meet the Press With Tim Russert, 09/07/2003,
http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=1675067&l=36310.
3. Meet The Press transcript, 04/04/2004, http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=1675067&l=36311.
4. "Who let bin Ladens leave U.S.?", The Hill, 05/18/2004,
http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=1675067&l=36309.
5. "Saudi Government Provided Aid to 9/11 Hijackers, Sources Say", Los
Angeles Times, 08/02/2003, http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=1675067&l=36312.
6. Riggs Press Release, 05/31/2000,
http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=1675067&l=36313.
7. Riggs Press Release, 05/31/2000,
http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=1675067&l=36313.
8. Texans for Public Justice,
http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=1675067&l=36314.
9. President Bush Vows to Bring Terrorists to Justice, 05/16/2003,
http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=1675067&l=36315.