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Newsroom: Press Releases
Senator Lautenberg Releases Passenger Manifest of ' Bin Laden Family Airlift' Out of U.S. One Week After 9/11 AttackWednesday, July 21, 2004WASHINGTON, DC – Today, United States Senator Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ) released the passenger manifest from a charter flight that carried thirteen members of Osama Bin Laden's family out of the United States and out of reach from U.S. investigators just days after Osama Bin Laden killed 3,000 innocent people. At least one member of the Bin Laden family on board is linked to a suspected terrorist organization based in Northern Virginia. Omar Awad Bin Laden, a nephew of Osama and the brother and one-time roommate of Abdullah Bin Laden, the President of the World Assembly of Muslim Youth (WAMY) was allowed to leave the country even though Omar has been linked to WAMY; a suspected terrorist organization located in Falls Church, Va, that was recently raided by 50 federal agents. "It is outrageous that just one week after September 11th, the Bush administration would allow a plane carrying thirteen members of Osama Bin Laden's family to leave the country. The first rule of a criminal investigation is that when the suspect is on the run, you must interrogate the family to find out where he is," said Senator Lautenberg. "Osama Bin Laden just killed over 3,000 Americans, and one of the first actions by the Bush administration was to let Bin Laden's relatives leave without intense questioning? The President of the United States needs to explain to the American people why his Administration let this plane leave. The American people are going to be shocked by this manifest, and they deserve an explanation." To this day, it is unclear what the Bin Laden family's position on Osama really is. Osama¹s brother, Yeslam Bin Laden, was asked this month by NBC's Dateline if he would turn Osama in if he knew were he was. He essentially said no. The manifest can be located at: http://www.lautenberg.senate.gov Front page on the right hand side.
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