Biden orders frozen Afghan funds split between 9/11 victims, Afghan people
The $3.5 billion for Sept. 11 victims' families will temporarily remain in holding
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President Biden has ordered $7 billion in Afghan assets freed and split between humanitarian aid and a fund for Sept. 11 victims still seeking relief.
The U.S. froze the funds after the Taliban took control of the country in August as the U.S. military withdrew. Half of the funds will move into a trust fund for distribution through humanitarian groups for Afghan relief and basic needs while the other half will disperse as payments in lawsuits by U.S. terrorism victims against the Taliban.
The White House said the executive order is "designed to provide a path for the funds to reach the people of Afghanistan while keeping them out of the hands of the Taliban and malicious actors."
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Biden’s plan invokes constitutional and statutory emergency powers to place the money in a consolidated account at the New York Federal Reserve, the Washington Post reported.
Payments to terror victims will not immediately disperse, but will instead remain in holding until the lawsuits resolve. The Biden administration said it plans to follow this path as a way of "respecting" the legal process while ensuring that victims eventually receive the relief they have chased for years.
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"This is one step forward in a process. No funds are going to be transferred until the court makes a ruling," a senior administration official said. "Some idea that we could just ignore the litigation in New York is just flatly wrong."
KABUL, AFGHANISTAN - AUGUST 24: In this handout provided by U.S. Central Command Public Affairs, U.S. Air Force loadmasters and pilots assigned to the 816th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron, load passengers aboard a U.S. Air Force C-17 Globemaster III … (Photo by Master Sgt. Donald R. Allen/U.S. Air Forces Europe-Africa via Getty Images / Getty Images)
The administration claimed that even prior to the withdrawal of U.S. forces the poverty rate in Afghanistan had dropped below the 50% mark and a 2-year-long drought had led to crop yields of no more than 40%.
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Biden has deliberated over how to use the funds as conditions in Afghanistan remain bleak while wanting to remain faithful to American families that have spent years trying to receive some repayment for losses and suffering in the 2001 attack.
The Justice Department had signaled months ago that the administration was poised to intervene in a federal lawsuit filed by 9/11 victims and families in New York City. The deadline for that filing had been pushed back until Friday.
Brett Eagleson, whose father, Bruce, died in the attack on the World Trade Center, said that though victims’ families support the distribution of a large portion of the funds to the Afghan people, the remaining funds should be distributed fairly among the families.
"Anything short of equitable treatment for and among the 9/11 families as it relates to these frozen assets is outrageous and will be seen as a betrayal" by the government, Eagleson said in a statement.
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Another $2 billion in frozen Afghan bank funds remain frozen in other countries.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.