Magistrate wants proof of Iraq involvement
Jurist asks for documentation on link between McVeigh, Saddam
Posted: April 23, 2003
5:00 p.m. Eastern
© 2003 WorldNetDaily.com
A federal magistrate in Washington, D.C., yesterday asked an attorney who claims Iraqi agents were involved in the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing to provide her with documentation to prove his contention, reports the Oklahoman.
Magistrate Deborah A. Robinson, at a federal court hearing, asked lawyer Mike Johnston for the evidence that is the basis for a civil case filed last year that alleges ties between executed bomber Timothy McVeigh, Terry Nichols and Iraqi agents.
The suit, brought by public-interest law firm Judicial Watch on behalf of 24 plaintiffs, claims Iraq is liable for the deaths of 168 people who perished in the attack on the Alfred P. Murrah Building.
According to the Oklahoman report, Robinson gave Johnston until May 22 to submit a memo outlining the evidence.
The victims who are survivors of the bombing are seeking damages in excess of $5 million each, said the report. Those who lost loved ones in the attack want actual damages in excess of $10 million each. The plaintiffs also seek $1.4 billion in punitive damages.
After the hearing, Thomas Fitton, president of Judicial Watch, told the Oklahoman: "We've presented uncontested evidence tying Iraq to the Oklahoma City bombing."
He said more evidence would emerge as coalition forces in Iraq go through the records of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein's regime.
"As the attic is cleared out, we'll learn more," Fitton said.
As WorldNetDaily reported, in filing the suit last year, Judcial Watch said reports from Philippine intelligence and law-enforcement sources form the basis for much of the information contained in the lawsuit. Specifically, the suit details meetings between Nichols and Ramzi Youssef, the mastermind of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, during Nichols' travel to the Philippines between 1990 and 1994.
Additional evidence obtained under the Freedom of Information Act reveals Interpol's efforts to apprehend two additional Oklahoma City bombing suspects and information in the agency's files associating Youssef with the attack, Judicial Watch said.
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