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CNN Live At Daybreak

9/11 Victims' Families Sue for One Trillion Dollars

Aired August 16, 2002 - 05:16   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Relatives of some of the people killed in the September 11 terror attacks are now trying to bankrupt those suspected of bankrolling Osama bin Laden and his terror network.
CNN's Allan Dodds Frank reports they've filed a multi-trillion -- that's right -- trillion dollar lawsuit.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALLAN DODDS FRANK, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Meet the 9/11 families united to bankrupt terrorism. The family of Thomas Burnett, Jr., one of the passengers who fought the hijackers aboard United Flight 93 before it crashed in a Pennsylvania field.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Tom's last words were "we're going to do something" and today we're going to do something, too.

DODDS FRANK: The father of a Cantor Fitzgerald employee who died in the World Trade Center.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The banks, so-called charities and the individuals names in this action have the blood of my son on their hands.

DODDS FRANK: A Pentagon employee who survived with her infant son.

APRIL GALLOP, PENTAGON ATTACK SURVIVOR: Proud as I was to receive the Purple Heart, I will be even prouder when we bankrupt the sponsors of terrorism and bring them to justice.

DODDS FRANK: Ron Motley, a plaintiff's lawyer who has made billions of dollars suing the tobacco and asbestos industries, is leading the case. His main target, the wealthy elite of Saudi Arabia, birthplace of 15 of the 19 hijackers and, the lawsuit charges, the main source of funds for Osama bin Laden. Among the nearly 100 defendants, three Saudi princes, including the current defense minister; the Saudi bin Laden Group; eight Islamic banks and nine Islamic charities.

RON MOTLEY, PLAINTIFFS' ATTORNEY: We fully expect the Saudi nationals and the Gulf State banks to fight. But if they fight, they must fight here.

DODDS FRANK: Many of the charities, as well as other individuals named, already have had assets blocked by the U.S. government. (on camera): Neither the Saudi nor the U.S. government had any comment on the case. The lawyers say the U.S. government has not given them any assistance, although they claim five other countries already have. And the families pleaded for the Senate Intelligence Committee to help them get access to classified information about the terrorists' money trail. Allan Dodds Frank, CNN Financial News, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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