Members of the House Judiciary Committee on Thursday considered legislation that would limit the extent to which U.S. law can shield foreign governments from civil complaints filed by American victims of terrorism. Under current exceptions to the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act, or FSIA, foreign government officials can be sued for directly participating in terrorist attacks in the United States, but in most circumstances can provide financing and other material support to terrorists without exposing themselves to civil monetary claims so long as all of the assistance occurs offshore. Signed into law 40 years ago, FSIA empowered federal courts to decide...
For an indication of how difficult it can be to identify terrorism funding, even for federal investigators, read the previously-classified 28 pages of a congressional report on the Sept. 11 attacks.
print