{"id":1324393,"date":"2022-02-21T22:52:41","date_gmt":"2022-02-22T03:52:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1324393"},"modified":"2022-02-21T22:52:53","modified_gmt":"2022-02-22T03:52:53","slug":"exclusive-top-9-11-lawyer-to-biden-prevent-billions-in-seized-afghan-funds-from-reaching-taliban","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/exclusive-top-9-11-lawyer-to-biden-prevent-billions-in-seized-afghan-funds-from-reaching-taliban\/","title":{"rendered":"Exclusive \u2014 Top 9\/11 Lawyer to Biden: Prevent Billions in Seized Afghan Funds from Reaching Taliban"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">32<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fexclusive-top-9-11-lawyer-to-biden-prevent-billions-in-seized-afghan-funds-from-reaching-taliban%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1324393&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/GettyImages-1234688073-640x335-1.jpg\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\" alt=\"image\" \/><\/div>\n<p class=\"subheading\"><span>In light of President Biden\u2019s recent executive order releasing $7 billion in frozen Afghan reserves, renowned 9\/11 attorney Michael Barasch, whose law firm represents over 25,000 members of the 9\/11 community, called on the Biden administration to ensure that no money reaches the Taliban and that funds dedicated to 9\/11 victims be apportioned equally among all the victims, including those who suffered in the aftermath of the attacks.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>After President Joe Biden signed an <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.whitehouse.gov\/briefing-room\/presidential-actions\/2022\/02\/11\/executive-order-on-protecting-certain-property-of-da-afghanistan-bank-for-the-benefit-of-the-people-of-afghanistan\/\"><span>executive order<\/span><\/a><span> earlier this month seizing $7 billion in U.S.-held Afghan central bank reserves, claiming half ($3.5 billion) will be used for Afghan humanitarian aid and the other half ($3.5 billion) will go toward 9\/11 victims, attorney Michael Barasch spoke with Breitbart News to discuss the matter.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"D-ROS-B1\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B1\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"gmxrevmore\" class=\"H\"><\/figure>\n<p><span>Refusing to recognize the Taliban as a legitimate government following its takeover in August, the U.S. froze the group\u2019s access to the reserves that are largely managed by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>While President Biden\u2019s announcement on the division of funds was reported as a clear directive, Barasch accused the media of giving a misleading impression of its implications.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cThat is actually what is so outrageous about this reporting by the media,\u201d he said. \u201cI think the media really jumped the gun on this by reporting that a decision had been made.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B2\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<p><span>A central concern that he highlighted has been whether the distribution of the funds will occur and how, given the executive order stops short of outlining such a process and omits which exact victims are eligible.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cI\u2019ve read the court dockets, I\u2019m involved in this [and] I represent over 25,000 people in the 9\/11 community and this announcement has really infuriated so many because there was a hint that only the plaintiffs \u2014 I believe 47 families \u2014 in this one small lawsuit that was brought against the Taliban would be eligible,\u201d he said. \u201c[However,] it shouldn\u2019t be [allocated to] just the 47 families who happened to mention al-Qaeda in their lawsuit complaint.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201c[In addition,] not only were there roughly 2,900 people who died on 9\/11, but more people have now died of 9\/11-related injuries to the toxins than the 2,900 people who died on 9\/11,\u201d he added.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Recalling Det. Steven McDonald, who died in 2017 after being shot in Central Park while on duty and subsequently living as a quadriplegic for over 30 years, Barasch compared the fate of the late officer with many victims of the September 11 attacks.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201c[Officer] McDonald was an inspiring man because he went on to live a life and had a family,\u201d he said, \u201cbut he eventually died of his gunshot wounds and all the injuries that occurred because of the multiple surgeries from those gunshot wounds.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B3\" class=\"a8d adSo\"><\/figure>\n<p><span>\u201cHe died 30 years later [yet] his family was granted a \u2018Line of Duty\u2019 death benefit,\u201d he added. \u201cSo how is that any different than the people who suffered years and years from the cancers they developed from inhaling the toxic dust from 9\/11?\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Arguing there should be \u201cno distinction at all\u201d between those who died on 9\/11 and those who died as a result of the attacks, and that \u201ceverybody in the 9\/11 community who has gotten cancer or who has lost a loved one should all be treated the same and be eligible for an award from these funds,\u201d Barasch lamented that such sentiment \u201chasn\u2019t been made clear yet.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"D-ROS-B2\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<p><span>He then highlighted the importance of ensuring fund allocation is done justly.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cYou might say that the easy part is over [because] the government [has] decided to give out some of that money \u2014 but to whom and to the plaintiffs in which cases?\u201d he asked. \u201cThere are many, many cases that have been brought against the Taliban, al-Qaeda, Afghanistan [and] Iran, [so] how do you decide who should get what?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Barasch, a<a href=\"https:\/\/www.post911attorneys.com\/attorneys\/michael-barasch\/\"> legal advocate<\/a> for first responders to the 9\/11 attacks and others harmed by resulting toxic dust, asserted that only a figure charged with assessing the appropriate amounts due to each victim would do justice.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B4\" class=\"a8d adSo\"><\/figure>\n<p><span>\u201cThe only fair way to do it is like they did with the first [September 11th] Victim Compensation Fund and then the reauthorization and you appoint someone like a Ken Feinberg, the Special Master who administered the first fund,\u201d he said. \u2013 he\u2019s sometimes known as the payout czar.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cThat would be the only fair way: let him decide [how the funds should be distributed],\u201d he added.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>When asked how he would respond to those who argue that the seized funds belong to the Afghan government and its citizens and none of it should go to the [American] victims of 9\/11, he claimed that the matter is complex.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cThat\u2019s the exact point: who should it go to? The people in Afghanistan who are starving?\u201d he asked. \u201cThey clearly could use this money but if we did give [it to] them, who would we give the money to, the Taliban? How do you know they\u2019re not just going to buy arms with it and use it to attack us?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cThere\u2019s no simple solution here,\u201d he added. \u201cIt\u2019s very complicated.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>In light of the complexity, he suggested a judge preside over the matter.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cPerhaps the way to do it, and this is what I\u2019ve heard a lot of people say, is give half the money to the 9\/11 community but let a judge decide and equally split it up among everybody: those who died on 9\/11 and those who died from 9\/11 illnesses in the years that followed,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>In addition, Barasch highlighted the need to take the currently living victims of 9\/11 into account and ensure funds dedicated to Afghans be received by those in need.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cYou\u2019re going to have to create a fund for the people who are sick now who have not yet died but who will die of their 9\/11 illnesses,\u201d he said, \u201cand then the other half should go perhaps to the International Red Cross to give out and make sure that the food goes to the people who are so desperately needing it now.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>He also emphasized that, despite reports to the contrary, there has yet to be explicit instruction as to how to allocate the funds.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cI hate when I hear people start making this a political thing of: \u2018Oh, good for Biden\u2019 or \u2018Bad for Biden,\u2019\u201d he said. \u201cAll [Biden] did was say \u2018OK, let the courts decide,\u2019 and unfortunately there\u2019s no clear directive now as of how that\u2019s going to be split up.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cBut I will fight for my clients and I represent so many people who died on 9\/11 and who died since [and] they should all be treated equally,\u201d he reiterated.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>He also expressed reservations about the argument that the funds should be released to Afghanistan because none of the 19 terrorists behind the 9\/11 attacks were from there.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cI understand that [but] on the other hand, these terrorists were allowed to train in Afghanistan with al-Qaeda, and perhaps they do deserve culpability for the attacks,\u201d he said. \u201cThey certainly made a hospitable place for them to train. How much [of] their letting the Saudi terrorists train on their property, on their land, was responsible for the attacks? We will know a lot more once we see the FBI files which are coming out in early March.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cI\u2019d like to see what the FBI has and then we\u2019ll be able to make an educated decision,\u201d he added. \u201cWe\u2019ve waited 20 years. There\u2019s no reason to rush right now and start giving this money out. Let\u2019s make sure the right people get the money.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>In a message to the Biden administration, Barasch urged patience and responsibility in distributing the funds.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cUntil [the files are released], I submit they shouldn\u2019t give any of the money out at all,\u201d he said, \u201cand when there is a time that comes for the money to be given out, they should make sure that the Taliban doesn\u2019t get any of it, but it all goes through the International Red Cross \u2014 that [is] whatever amount goes to the people of Afghanistan.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cAnd the amount that goes to the 9\/11 community should be divided equally among those who died on 9\/11, those who have died since 9\/11, and those who will die of 9\/11 illnesses,\u201d he added. \u201cAnd that can be done very easily with a Special Master such as Ken Feinberg.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Barasch spearheaded the efforts to reach hundreds of thousands of uninformed 9\/11 victims still owed benefits after having suffered from harmful consequences of toxic exposure to post-9\/11 World Trade Center dust, noting that <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/politics\/2021\/09\/11\/exclusive-top-9-11-lawyer-michael-barasch-on-finding-forgotten-victims-9-11-didnt-end-on-9-11\/\"><span>\u201c9\/11 didn\u2019t end on 9\/11\u201d<\/span><\/a><span> as many individuals continue to die as a result every day.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>With first responders and potentially hundreds of thousands of others exposed to harmful toxins after returning to downtown Manhattan to work, study, or live following the 9\/11 attacks, many continue to suffer from respiratory disorders, cancers, and other disabling conditions linked to the exposure, despite assurances the air was safe by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>As a result, Barasch made a commitment to locate and fight for victims, relentlessly lobbying Congress with labor union members, responders, and downtown office workers and residents.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>In a campaign titled \u201cFinding the Forgotten Victims of 9\/11,\u201d Barasch has actively sought the many \u201cforgotten\u201d victims of 9\/11, helping those successfully located register for federal health protection and compensation.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Despite hundreds of thousands being eligible for benefits, two decades later only a small percentage of those have registered for health care protections, benefits, and compensation established by Congress, with many simply unaware of their right to compensation and others failing to make a connection between the 9\/11 attacks and resulting toxic air-induced illnesses.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Despite his successful push for Congress to reopen the Victim Compensation Fund and establish the World Trade Center Health Program with former President Donald Trump signing a bill in 2019 \u201cpermanently extending\u201d both, many are still unaware of benefits they are entitled to as a result, he claimed.<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"entry-content\">\n<div class=\"entry-content\">\n<div class=\"entry-content\">\n<div class=\"entry-content\">\n<div class=\"entry-content\">\n<p><i><em>Follow Joshua Klein on Twitter\u00a0<a class=\"x5l\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/joshuaklein_\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">@JoshuaKlein<\/a><\/em><\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In light of President Biden\u2019s recent executive order releasing $7 billion in frozen Afghan reserves, renowned 9\/11 attorney Michael Barasch, whose law firm represents over 25,000 members of the 9\/11 &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1324393","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1324393","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1324393"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1324393\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1324393"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1324393"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1324393"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}