‘A slap in the face’: 9/11 families say US-Sudan deal would torpedo two-decade lawsuit
The Trump administration has quietly reached an understanding with Sudan that some 9/11 families say puts Washington’s foreign policy objectives ahead of their quest for justice.
Nearly two decades after 9/11, some victims’ relatives are worried that a Trump administration deal to take Sudan off the US state sponsors of terror list and grant its government immunity from prosecution could jeopardize their own lawsuits accusing Khartoum of abetting al-Qaeda in the attack.
Angela Mistrulli, whose father died in the World Trade Center’s north tower, called the State Department in May after she heard news of the potential delisting. She said officials claimed they were unaware the 9/11 families had active claims against Sudan.
“At first, they were very like, ‘You guys have nothing,’” recalled Mistrulli. “It was a slap in the face from my own country.”
“It was absolutely shocking to me because we had been pursuing Sudan in court since 2003,” she told Al-Monitor.
