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Copyright
© 2002, Newsday, Inc.
By Thomas
Frank, Washington Bureau
November 2, 2002
9/11 Litigants
Oppose Lawsuit Block |
Rally on Capitol Hill Nov 1, 2002
(AP Photo) |
Reports
of U.S. intervention in suit against Saudis protested
(contact Sacks & Sacks, LLP for more
information)
Washington -- A group of Sept. 11 families
and survivors angrily denounced President George W. Bush Friday,
citing reports the administration may try to block their lawsuit
against Saudi Arabian banks and charities that allegedly financed
al-Qaida.
Speakers at a rally said the Bush administration would "obstruct
justice," "sell out" and "fail us again" if it filed legal
objections to their lawsuit out of concern the case would
harm U.S.-Saudi relations.
"How dare you, Mr. President, tell me I cannot go through
the legal system," said Matt Sellitto of Harding Township,
N.J., whose son Matt, 23, died in the World Trade Center.
"If you do this, Mr. President, the blood of my son is now
on your hands."
More than 3,500 Sept. 11 family members and survivors are
seeking as much as $1 trillion in a suit similar to one brought
by relatives of passengers who died on Pan Am Flight 103,
which terrorists blew up over Lockerbie, Scotland. The Libyan
government recently offered to pay $10 million to each surviving
family.
However, the Bush administration may seek to dismiss, delay
or limit the current suit, according to recent reports in
The Washington Post and elsewhere. The administration reportedly
has heard from Saudi officials concerned that the lawsuit
seeks damages from two prominent members of the Saudi royal
family, who are accused of giving money to charities and front
groups that sustained al-Qaida.
A State Department spokesman said Thursday, "At this stage,
the Department of State has no plans to intervene in this
case."
"That's not the answer we want," said Ron Motley, the Charleston,
S.C., lawyer who filed
the suit in August in federal court just outside Washington.
He said the Sept. 11 families want assurance the administration
will never interfere with the case.
Motley also said he has "not received a single paper from
the government," despite requests to the State, Justice, Treasury
and Defense departments. Particularly valuable, Motley said,
would be a Saudi investigation from the 1990s -- cited by
the United States in recent criminal cases against suspected
terrorists -- about Saudi charities and banks facilitating
terrorism.
Motley said 13 countries, including Russia and Bosnia, have
given him hundreds of thousands of pages of investigative
files and intelligence reports.
Justice Department spokesman Charles Miller said Motley had
not sought any information. "We're at a loss to what they're
saying," Miller said.
The suit is backed by 9/11 Families United to Bankrupt Terrorism,
whose members, many from the New York area, held the rally
of about 100 people Friday in front of the U.S. Capitol. Stunned
by possible government opposition, they said their suit would
help fight terrorists by draining their financial networks.
"I fear the president is losing sight of the promise he made
to the American people," said Ellen Saracini, the widow of
Victor Saracini, who was captain of the plane that hit the
South Tower.
Copyright
© 2002, Newsday, Inc. |
|
--
Ironworker falls from ladder. $85,637,000.
--
Ironworker was
injured when 25 foot-high column collapsed. $30,477,076.
--Ironworker
fell through unguarded opening - $26,902,576
to plaintiff and $700,000 to his wife, for loss
of services.
--
Scaffold Worker hit by a falling iron brace at
construction site., The brace broke through his hard hat, lacerated
his hand and struck his face. $12,430,000.
--
31-year-old foreman for
the ironworkers injured when he and the ladder he was using fell
20 to 25 feet to the ground $12,419,611
--
33-year-old Pipe Layer was
working in a portioned area when he was struck by a truck.He underwent
a laminectomy and lumbar fusion. $11,103,391.
--
35-year-old ornamental ironworker lost his footing and fell
through an opening in the stairwell, landing on the 18th floor below.
Verdict $7,462,000.
see
more verdicts
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