9/11 families suing Saudi Arabia flood NY court as govt tries to dodge blame: Outrageous

Relatives of Sept.11 victims flooded a New York City courtroom Wednesday — where they ripped Saudi Arabia’s bid to avoid blame for aiding the Al Qaeda hijackers as “outrageous.” Around 100 people who lost loved ones on that horrific day packed the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals in lower Manhattan, just blocks from Ground Zero, and were left fuming at the Kingdom’s efforts to dodge liability in the long-delayed case.“It’s outrageous, after seeing the evidence of the direct link between the Saudi government agents and hijackers, for them to continue denying their culpability,” said Terry Strada, who lost her husband Tom in the attacks.“We’re hoping to finally see justice,” added Lisa Friedman, whose husband Andrew was killed that day.Riyadh is appealing a lower court’s ruling last August that the families can take Saudi Arabia to trial because there’s “reasonable evidence” that it ran a support network for some of the terrorists. Saudi officials deny having any knowledge of the attacks beforehand and claim they’re protected from the lawsuit under foreign sovereign immunity — despite a 2016 act of Congress making it easier for Sept.11 victims’ families to sue countries accused of sponsoring terrorism.“The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has never supported its enemy, Al Qaeda, against its ally, the United States,” said Gregory Rapawy, a lawyer for the oil-rich nation, during the 90-minute court hearing.Gavin Simpson, who reps the relatives of Sept.11 victims, countered that the Saudi government has “failed” to prove that it should be removed from the suit that claims it was complicit in the terror attacks.Several plaintiffs seated in the courtroom gallery applauded after Simpson finished his arguments, earning a light chastising from Circuit Court Judge William Nardini.“Please, this is not a moment for such things,” Nardini said after hearing the smattering of clapping.After the hearing wrapped, family members of the Sept.11 victi...