From Fox News · James Cirrone · · 1m 50s
A 9/11 widow tells Washington to stop shielding the Saudis
Twenty-five years after losing her husband at Ground Zero, Terry Strada used the anniversary stage to name who she blames and who she thinks can fix it.
In brief
Twenty-five years after losing her husband at Ground Zero, Terry Strada used the anniversary stage to name who she blames and who she thinks can fix it. The 9/11 families' fight has moved from grief to a live federal lawsuit, and a judge has already found reasonable evidence that Saudi officials helped two hijackers…
She named the kingdom
At the 25th anniversary ceremony at Ground Zero, Terry Strada said Saudi Arabia still escapes responsibility for the attacks that killed her husband.
“The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia fomented a rancid culture of anti-American terrorism around the globe”
And then she named Washington
Strada accused the U.S. government of protecting the Saudis, saying administration after administration had chosen the kingdom over the families for a quarter century.
“It has been one betrayal after another.”
A message for Vance
JD Vance was the most senior Trump official in the audience in Lower Manhattan. Strada thanked him for coming, then asked him to carry her demand back to the president.
“Tell the Saudis to stop lying.”
The 104th floor
Tom Strada, 41, worked at Cantor Fitzgerald in the North Tower. Days earlier the couple had brought their third child home. After the plane hit, he called to say he was heading for the stairwell.
Grief turned into a lawsuit
Strada now chairs 9/11 Families United and is one of thousands of relatives and survivors suing Saudi Arabia over alleged material support for the al Qaeda hijackers. The kingdom denies it.
A judge let it proceed
Last August, Judge George B. Daniels found reasonable evidence that two Saudi government employees helped two future hijackers who took flight lessons in the U.S. He refused to dismiss the case.
The law that opened the door
Sovereign immunity blocked these suits for over a decade. JASTA changed that in 2016 after Congress overrode Obama's veto, and the case filed in March 2017 is still pending.
Here's the gist
The 9/11 families' fight has moved from grief to a live federal lawsuit, and a judge has already found reasonable evidence that Saudi officials helped two hijackers.
