VX had been found at El Shifa.' Idris has said he paid $12 million for El Shifa and agreed to assume $18 million in debt. `No U.S. official has provided any evidence to date linking Idris to bin Laden, nerve gas production or terrorist activities. But David C. Leavy, a White House spokesman, said, "We remain confident of the evidence that El Shifa was engaged in chemical weapons-related activities." One senior administration official, who asked not to be quoted by name, said the administration had "compelling" evidence tying El Shifa to the Sudanese military and to Iraq's chemical weapons program, both of which have ties to bin Laden... `"Akin, Gump ... should think twice about the kinds of clients they are representing," the official said. `A senior Akin, Gump partner responded that the firm "doesn't represent Sudan." It represented Idris, a Saudi citizen, for some time prior to his acquisition of the pharmaceutical plant," The Washington Post adds. `The law firm has a long-held reputation of influence in Democratic circles with partners like Robert Strauss, the former Democratic Party chairman, and Vernon Jordan, a close friend of President Clinton,' comments the New York Times. But the firm's lawyers `have been flatly rebuffed in their efforts to present their findings to the White House, National Security Council or the Justice, Treasury and Defense Departments. `"We've been confronted with the problem of proving a series of negatives - that there was no Empta at the plant and that Idris was not a terrorist," said Mark MacDougall, a partner at the law firm. "We think we've done that with evidence that can be admitted in court. But to date responsible officials, including at the White House, have flatly refused to look at the facts." `The lawyers have not yet decided whether they will sue the government, in what would probably be complex litigation with an uncertain outcome. Nevertheless, MacDougall said Idris wanted to clear his name.' (Washington Post 4/Feb/99, NYT 9/Feb/99)