AG Jackson participated in a 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb to honor victims and first responders
North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson and attorneys general from 30 other states are asking the U.S. Supreme Court to review a ruling that prevents billions of dollars in frozen assets from being used to pay judgments awarded to victims of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and their families.
Jackson, who enlisted in the military after the attacks and later served in Afghanistan, filed a friend-of-the-court brief supporting victims and family members who secured judgments totaling about $17 billion against the Taliban.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled that $3.5 billion in frozen assets could not be used toward those judgments, according to Jackson’s office.
This is money that rightfully belongs to the victims who survived 9/11 and the families of those who lost their lives,” Jackson said. “We are asking the Supreme Court to do the right thing and make sure that it goes to them.
The coalition’s argument centers on the Terrorism Risk
The coalition’s argument centers on the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act, which Congress passed after the Sept. 11 attacks. Jackson’s office said the law allows assets in the United States, including frozen assets belonging to a terrorist party, to be used when someone obtains a judgment against that party for terrorism.
The U.S. Treasury froze about $7 billion held by Da Afghanistan Bank at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York on Aug. 15, 2021, the day Taliban forces captured Kabul.
Eight days later, the Taliban named a loyalist as the bank’s acting governor and appointed two people designated as terrorists by the Office of Foreign Assets Control as deputy governors, according to Jackson’s office. About $3.5 billion of those assets remains at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
The Second Circuit ruled the money could not
The Second Circuit ruled the money could not be used to satisfy the judgments because the Treasury froze it before the Taliban finished installing its officials at the bank.
Jackson’s brief argues the appeals court misinterpreted the law and that the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act applies regardless of when the Taliban assumed control. The coalition is asking the Supreme Court to grant a petition and review the lower court’s ruling.
Jackson was joined by attorneys general from Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, West Virginia and Wyoming.
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