Declassified FBI bulletin says Saudi officials help their citizens flee US legal issues

The FBI believes that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia officials “almost certainly” help their US-based citizens flee the country to avoid legal issues, according to a recently declassified intelligence bulletin.

The bulletin explains that the assessment was made with high confidence and is not likely to change unless the US “directly addresses this issue” with the Saudi government.

The document was released by Sen. Ron Wyden’s office Friday. The Oregon Democrat introduced a bill to declassify information on Saudi activity in the US that became law in December.

“I am shocked and appalled at what this memo describes,” he tweeted. “The Trump administration is out of excuses for sitting on its hands while the Saudi government helps these fugitives evade justice.”

There is at least one recent example of a Saudi citizen fleeing prosecution in the senator’s home state.

Authorities in Portland said Abdulrahman Sameer Noorah, 21, escaped house arrest in 2017, nine days before he was to be tried for manslaughter in the hit-and-run accident that killed 15-year-old Fallon Smart.

His bail was paid by a Saudi consulate.

“The Saudi consulate paid $100,000 to get him out,” Multnomah County Deputy District Attorney Shawn Overstreet said. “They gave the money to the defendant, and the defendant paid the bail.”