Moore's lawyer claims discrimination
By DAVID GERMAIN
AP Movie Writer
LOS ANGELES --
Michael Moore's attorney said Monday that the filmmaker's criticism of
the Bush administration may have prompted a federal investigation into
his trip to Cuba for the upcoming health-care documentary, "Sicko."
In a letter to the U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets
Control, attorney David Boies noted that Moore has been a critic of
President Bush in his books and films, which include 2004's "Fahrenheit
9/11," a harsh indictment of White House actions regarding the Sept. 11
attacks.
"For this reason, I am concerned that Mr. Moore has been selected for
discriminatory treatment by your office," Boies wrote in response to a
letter sent to Moore last month from Dale Thompson, OFAC chief of
general investigations and field operations.
The OFAC letter notified Moore that he was under investigation for
possible violations of the U.S. trade embargo restricting travel to Cuba.
A copy of Boies' letter was obtained by The Associated Press in advance
of an afternoon news conference at the attorney's New York office by
Moore, Boies and Harvey Weinstein, co-chairman of the Weinstein Co.,
which is releasing "Sicko" on June 29.
"I am requesting that you provide to me information regarding the person
or persons who participated in making the decision to send Mr.
Thompson's letter, the nature of the discussions that took place, and
the knowledge your office had of Mr. Moore and his trip to Cuba at the
time the letter was sent," Boies wrote.
Moore went to Cuba in March to obtain health care for three ailing Sept.
11 rescue workers. He claims in the film that the U.S. government had
left the workers to fend for themselves on ailments that resulted from
their work at Ground Zero.
Last fall, Moore had asked the Treasury Department for permission to go
to Cuba under U.S. rules permitting travel there by journalists. OFAC's
letter noted that Moore went to Cuba without having gotten any response
from the office.
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