A man known as the "20th hijacker" who is serving a life sentence for his admitted role in conspiring to murder Americans in the Sept. 11 attacks in 2001 has come forward with some shocking new allegations, claiming that a Saudi Arabian royal helped fund the devastating terror events.
In this undated file photo provided by the Sherburne County Sheriff Office, ZacariasMoussaoui is shown. (AP Photo/Sherburne County, Minn., Sheriff's Office, File)
ZacariasMoussaoui, 46, has said, more specifically, that a Saudi prince paid to train him and the 19 hijackers in the time leading up to the attacks.
He issued these allegations in recently filed federal court documents, alleging that the prince was fully aware that the training was being done on behalf of Osama bin Laden, according to the Daily Mail.
"I am ready to testify about all the above and more in your court in an Open Hearing that I request," Moussaoui said in a handwritten court document dated October 23.
According to his account, Prince Turki Al Faisal Al Saud met with him, provided him with funding and also financially assisted the other 19 Sept. 11 terrorists.
Moussaoui also detailed an alleged Al Qaeda plan to shoot down Air Force One when Bill Clinton was in office — a purported plot that he said involved an employee at one of Saudi Arabia's embassies, according to the Oklahoman.
The Saudi government has denied any involvement in the 9/11 attacks in the past and some say that Moussaoui's own credibility is at issue in taking his claims at face value, especially considering that a defense psychologist once said he suffers from delusions as a result of paranoid schizophrenia.
Still, this isn't the first time Saudi Arabia has been accused of involvement in the Sept. 11 attacks.
As for Moussaoui, he was originally arrested in August 2001 — just one month before 9/11 — after staffers at a Minnesota flight school became concerned over his quest to learn to fly a Boeing 747, despite not having a pilot's license.
Moussaoui was initially arrested on immigration charges before the attacks and was held in custody just weeks later when they unfolded; in 2005, he pleaded guilty to conspiring with the hijackers.
A courtroom drawing shows Al-Qaeda plotter ZacariasMoussaoui shouting "I will be free. Before the end of George Bush I will get out." as he is led out the courtroom by a marshal in Bryan US District Court May 2006 in Alexandria, Virginia. (AFP PHOTO/COURTROOM DRAWING BY ART LIEN)
Just one year later, though, an audio recording revealed that bin Laden was separating himself from Moussaoui, claiming that the man wasn't part of the 9/11 attacks, the Daily Mail reported.
These facts aside, Moussaouiclaims to have given a deposition in October to lawyers who are representing insurance companies and victims seeking damages from Saudi Arabia over claims that the country was involved in the Sept. 11 plot.
(H/T: Daily Mail)
