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hand, recalls visiting the mosque twice that day for prayers, both before and
after the meal. Bin Don's recollection is spotty and inconsistent. Bayoumi's ver-
sion can be challenged as well, since the mosque is close to the restaurant and
Bayoumi had visited it, and the surrounding area, on multiple occasions, includ-
ing twice within six weeks of February 1.We do not know whether the lunch
encounter occurred by chance or design.We know about it because Bayoumi
told law enforcement that it happened.
17
Bayoumi, then 42 years old, was in the United States as a business student,
supported by a private contractor for the Saudi Civil Aviation Authority, where
Bayoumi had worked for over 20 years.
18
The object of considerable media
speculation following 9/11, he lives now in Saudi Arabia, well aware of his
notoriety. Both we and the FBI have interviewed him and investigated evi-
dence about him.
Bayoumi is a devout Muslim, obliging and gregarious. He spent much of
his spare time involved in religious study and helping run a mosque in El
Cajon, about 15 miles from San Diego. It is certainly possible that he has dis-
sembled about some aspects of his story, perhaps to counter suspicion. On the
other hand, we have seen no credible evidence that he believed in violent
extremism or knowingly aided extremist groups.
19
Our investigators who have
dealt directly with him and studied his background find him to be an unlikely
candidate for clandestine involvement with Islamist extremists.
The Move to San Diego
By February 4, Hazmi and Mihdhar had come to San Diego from Los Ange-
les, possibly driven by Mohdar Abdullah.Abdullah, a Yemeni university student
in his early 20s, is fluent in both Arabic and English, and was perfectly suited to
assist the hijackers in pursuing their mission.
20
After 9/11,Abdullah was interviewed many times by the FBI. He admitted
knowing of Hazmi and Mihdhar's extremist leanings and Mihdhar's involve-
ment with the Islamic Army of Aden (a group with ties to al Qaeda) back in
Yemen. Abdullah clearly was sympathetic to those extremist views. During a
post-9/11 search of his possessions, the FBI found a notebook (belonging to
someone else) with references to planes falling from the sky, mass killing, and
hijacking. Further, when detained as a material witness following the 9/11
attacks, Abdullah expressed hatred for the U.S. government and "stated that the
U.S. brought `this' on themselves."
21
When interviewed by the FBI after 9/11,Abdullah denied having advance
knowledge of attacks. In May 2004, however, we learned of reports about
Abdullah bragging to fellow inmates at a California prison in September­
October 2003 that he had known Hazmi and Mihdhar were planning a ter-
rorist attack.The stories attributed to Abdullah are not entirely consistent with
each other. Specifically, according to one inmate, Abdullah claimed an
unnamed individual had notified him that Hazmi and Mihdhar would be arriv-
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