Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman speaks during a dinner hosted for him by U.S. President Donald Trump, at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., November 18, 2025. REUTERS/Tom Brenner
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud (MBS) met with President Donald Trump at the White House this week, infuriating family members of 9/11 victims.
Speaking to CNN on Wednesday, Brett Eagleson, whose father died in the 2001 attacks, demanded to know why Trump refuses to meet with the other family members but is so willing to bring MBS into the Oval Office.
The government of Saudi Arabia has denied any involvement in the 9/11 attacks. However, there was evidence uncovered by the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States that found evidence that Saudi-funded religious charities that sent money to al-Qaeda. A number of the attackers were also from Saudi Arabia and had connections to government officials, ProPublica reported in 2024.
MBS also stands accused of having Washington Post reporter Jamal Khashoggi brutally murdered and dismembered.
"Trump and Mr Bone Saw stage love-in as Saudi’s $1 trillion wipes the bloody slate clean," one headline from The Guardian characterized the visit this week.
Eagleson said that Trump gave MBS an "out" when it came to questions about Khashoggi. Trump attacked the reporter who asked the question and Khashoggi, saying that a lot of people didn't like him.
"This idea that Osama bin Laden picked 15 of the 19 hijackers to be Saudi Arabia. Sure. While that may be true, it doesn't — you can't disregard the fact that right now, a federal judge in the Southern District of Manhattan has said and reviewed credible evidence — that we have presented enough evidence that his country must stand trial for the murder of my father and nearly 3000 Americans," Eagleson said.
He said the contrast couldn't be starker, seeing MBS in the Oval Office for what he called a "rah-rah" celebration.
"At the same time, in a separate but equal branch of our own government — federal judge is greenlighting the 9/11 families to hold the kingdom accountable. You noticed yesterday, MBS invoked the name Osama bin Laden. What he failed to say is, what about Omar al-Bayoumi, who we just discovered had videotaped casing the U.S. Capitol, calling the senators that worked there 'demons of the West,'" continued Eagleson. "There are still people in Saudi Arabia today that are implicated in this."
Meanwhile, Trump refuses to meet with them, he said.
"Where is our White House meeting? He will meet with anybody at the drop of a dime. He'll meet with [Vladimir] Putin. He'll meet with, you know, MBS. But when it comes to the families, we are completely ignored. We're papered over and we're thought as an afterthought," Eagleson lamented.