Terrorist attack victims ask Biden to take further action on $4 billion in frozen Afghan funds
CBSN
More than 350 U.S. victims of terrorist attacks are formally asking President Joe Biden to move currently frozen Afghan assets into a fund created by Congress to benefit all families, according to a new letter obtained by CBS News.
"We write to you today with a respectful but urgent request: to move the currently frozen Afghan assets into the USVSST(US Victims of State Sponsored Terrorism) Fund to accomplish your goal of supporting U.S. terrorism victims," the families wrote in their Sept. 14 letter to the president. They said that the decision to leave nearly $4 billion dollars for a New York court to decide compensation had created "vicious infighting, legal maneuvering, and political gamesmanship that has beset our friends, colleagues, and loved ones regarding the best fair and equitable way to distribute the $3.5 billion in frozen DAB (Da Afghanistan Bank) funds."
A "CBS Mornings" investigation earlier this year revealed a race to the courthouse, after the president signed an executive order in February that left the frozen Afghan funds with a New York court to consider victim compensation claims and Afghan aid.
