Declassified 28 pages of 9/11 report indicate high-ranking Saudis helped hijackers
Stephen Cozen (courtesy photo)
Cozen OConnor name partner Stephen Cozen called Fridays release of 28 previously classified pages from the 9/11 Commission report an affirmation of what he has been arguing in court for 13 years. And it may have come at just the right time for the firm.
Cozen, along with former Florida Sen. Bob Graham and others, has been pushing for Congress to release the pages in hopes they would shed further light on what they claim is Saudi Arabias role in the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
While the released pages dont counter what the previous report had foundthat there was no existing evidence the Saudi government directly funded the terror attacksit provides details of lower level Saudi government operatives in places such as San Diego having possible ties to the hijackers, according to media reports on the documents.
The credibility of our assertions in this case has been given a huge boost, Cozen said Friday. I am hopeful that, now that weve gotten the 28 pages, we will be able to get [declassified] from the government any of the other documents referred to in the 28 pages that would lead to the discovery of admissible evidence.
Cozen said the information in the 28 pages puts an absolute lie to the notion adopted by the district court judge in In re Terror Attacks of September 11, 2001, that the case had to be dismissed because there was no evidence the Saudi government did anything on U.S. soil to bring it under the confines of the noncommercial tort exception of the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act.
U.S. District Court Judge George Daniels of the Southern District of New York had dismissed Saudi Arabia from the suit Cozen led on behalf of families of victims and insurance companies, finding the plaintiffs claims that Saudi officials acted on U.S. soil was implausible, Cozen said.
That is the issue that is set to be argued before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit this fall, Cozen said, adding that these pages may give the court reason to question Daniels findings.
The release of the 28 pages, which we have fought for for years, and the 9/11 families have fought for for years is a tremendous turning point in connection with the 9/11 investigation, which is still ongoing, and our investigation, Cozen said.
The matter might be moot, however, Cozen noted, if Congress passes the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act, which would allow for recovery against foreign governments, regardless of where the torts took place.
Cozen has seen a number of highs and lows in the 13 years he has led this case, with Saudi Arabia being dismissed from the suit on two occasions, arguments before the Second Circuit, requests for certiorari from the U.S. Supreme Court and battles outside the courtroom for documents like the ones released Friday.
We say this was an act that was directed by or aided and abetted by the Saudi government, Cozen said. I think the 28 pages gives credence to that.
Source: http://www.law.com/sites/almstaff/2016/07/15/cozen-oconnor-founder-says-release-of-28-pages-boosts-911-suit/
