U.S. Sides With Iran Over Terrorist Victim

NewsMax.com
July 3, 2000

The Clinton-Gore administration admits destroying 900 subpoenaed records
needed to force Iran to compensate an American family whose daughter died
in a terrorist attack.

The victim’s father is alleging the Justice Department got rid of its own files
deliberately to avoid having to seize Iranian frozen assets to pay a $24 million
judgment against Iran that the New Jersey family won in 1998.

The administration is making an effort to placate the new government of Iran,
which is on the State Department’s list of terrorist states.

The issue of Iranian financial assets frozen in the United States is key to
Washington’s hopes of resolving amicably its differences with Tehran.

According to the World Tribune:

Stephen Flatow’s daughter, Alisa, was killed in 1995 in Gaza during an attack
on an Israeli bus by the Islamic Jihad terrorist group under orders of Iran.

He said his family had requested the 800 to 900 documents, related to
licensing of U.S. transactions with Iran, as part of the family’s effort to seize part
of the Iranian frozen assets as compensation to satisfy the judgment.

Flatow said a Justice Department attorney, Andrea Cohen, wrote to him that
those files were destroyed due to lack of storage space.

“We are beyond shock,” Flatow said. “We are disgusted. And, if it turns out
that the destruction was purposeful, I am going to see to it that heads roll at
Treasury.”

U.S. federal Judge Royce C. Lamberth will hold a hearing Wednesday on the
destruction of this subpoenaed evidence.