At the 25th-anniversary 9/11 memorial at Ground Zero on Friday, families of victims renewed their public pressure on President Trump to declassify unredacted government files they believe implicate Saudi Arabia in the 2001 attacks — telling him, in the words of one victim’s nephew, that he’s their “last hope,” per Fox News.
Why it matters: It’s the latest chapter in a 24-year fight that only recently cleared a major legal hurdle: a federal judge allowed the families’ long-running lawsuit against Saudi Arabia to proceed toward trial last year, after Congress overrode President Obama’s 2016 veto of the law that made such a suit possible in the first place.
Driving the news:
Vice President JD Vance attended Friday’s Ground Zero ceremony in Trump’s place; Trump spoke separately at the Pentagon, and neither he nor Vance has publicly responded to the families’ appeal, per Fox News.
9/11 widow Terry Strada addressed Vance directly from the podium: “Vice President Vance, thank you for being here today. Please carry that message back” to Trump on Saudi accountability, she said.
A nephew of victim Lisa Marie Terry made a direct appeal: “President Trump, you’re our last hope. Release the unredacted files that implicate Saudi Arabia,” per the Daily Caller.
Families say the request centers on records they believe would further tie Saudi government officials to the hijackers — on top of evidence already surfaced in the ongoing federal case.
By the numbers:
25 years since the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks; nearly 3,000 people killed.
10,000+ — the number of victims’ families and insurers pursuing the federal lawsuit against Saudi Arabia, seeking roughly $1 trillion in damages, per the Daily Caller.
August 2025 — when U.S. District Judge George Daniels rejected Saudi Arabia’s bid to dismiss the case in a 45-page ruling, citing evidence that at least 13 Saudi government officials connected to the Ministry of Islamic Affairs had contact with people who supported the hijackers, per Fox News.
2016 — the year Congress overrode Obama’s veto of the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act (JASTA), the law that opened the door to the lawsuit.
What they’re saying:
“How can it be 25 years and still we have no justice for the role that Saudi Arabia played?” — Terry Strada, whose husband Tom died in the attacks, per the Daily Caller.
“[We] finally made it into a court and proved that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia fomented a rancid culture of anti-American terrorism.” — Strada, on the case clearing dismissal.
“It has been one betrayal after another.” — Strada, on successive administrations’ handling of the Saudi question, per Fox News.
The other side: Saudi Arabia has denied any government involvement in the attacks, and its lawyers have argued in the litigation that there’s no proof any Saudi official or employee was involved, according to Fox News. Judge Daniels’ ruling didn’t decide the underlying facts — it found the families’ evidence sufficient to let the case proceed rather than resolving whether Saudi Arabia is ultimately liable.
The bottom line: With the dismissal fight behind them, families are using the emotional weight of the 25th anniversary to press a president they see as having, in one relative’s words, a “unique, historic opportunity” that three of his predecessors passed on. Whether Trump acts on the declassification request remains an open question — the White House hasn’t said.
Go deeper:
Fox News: 9/11 families urge Trump to release unredacted Saudi Arabia files
Daily Caller: 9/11 family members demand Trump admin release docs during memorial
Fox News: 9/11 widow Terry Strada accuses U.S. of protecting Saudi Arabia, addresses Vance
Fox News: 9/11 families celebrate ‘historic, landmark decision’ in long-running Saudi Arabia lawsuit