09.16.2003

MEDIA RELEASE

Deutsch calls for investigation into White House effort to evacuate Saudi nationals in wake of 9/11

U.S. Rep. Peter Deutsch, along with U.S. Rep. Robert Wexler (D-FL), sent a letter to the U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO) requesting a formal investigation of the Bush Administration’s efforts to evacuate an estimated 140 Saudi nationals only days after September 11, 2001.

The letter calls for an explanation on possible FBI and/or State Department assistance in facilitating the travel of Saudi nationals out of the country when all other air travel was grounded post 9/11 terrorist attacks.

“In the days following the largest terrorist attack on our country, it is inconceivable that the Bush Administration assisted Saudi nationals to leave while the FBI was grounding planes carrying life saving organs for a severely ill patient,” Deutsch said.

"We are simply seeking information on who authorized these flights in the wake of a national security crisis," Deutsch continued. Deutsch and Wexler grew concerned after investigations by Vanity Fair and Tampa Tribune linked the Bush Administration’s close relationship with the Saudi Royal Family to this breach of protocol.

Source: Deutsch for Senate

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