The Trump administration offered up to $ 850 million to US victims of terrorist attacks as part of its efforts to save a deal with Sudan to establish full diplomatic ties with Israel.
The offer included $ 700 million for the victims of the September 11 terrorist attacks and up to $ 150 million for hundreds of naturalized U.S. citizens victims of the 1998 twin bombings of U.S. embassies in Kenya, according to two sources familiar with the negotiations. and Tanzania.
But those offers fell apart Monday afternoon, a source said, amid fraught negotiations between the White House and Capitol Hill that had been going on since Friday.
‘We are flatline. We have a livelihood, ”said the source.
The Trump administration’s $ 850 bid to compensate U.S. victims of terrorism is part of the White House’s efforts to reach an agreement with Congress on legislation extending Sudan’s sovereign immunity, the so-called legal peace, as part of its de-listing as State Sponsors of Terrorism (SST).
ABC News first reported on Friday the Trump administration’s bid of $ 700 million for 9/11 victims pursuing claims against Sudan.
It is unclear where the Trump administration would get the $ 850 million, but it is believed to be likely from the US taxpayer.
The Trump administration rescinded Sudan’s SST designation on Monday, a move welcomed by bipartisan Congress and a recognition of the country’s revolutionary democratic transition following the overthrow of Omar al-Bashir’s 30-year dictatorship in April 2019.
But the passage of “legal peace” has stalled in Congress over concerns that victims and the families of victims of terrorism may not be able to bring claims against Sudan. This includes the 1998 double bombing of US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, carried out by Al Qaeda, and the September 11 terrorist attacks.
The White House, which focused on opening relations between Israel and Arab and Muslim countries, declined to comment.
President Trump
Donald Trump Hogan on Republicans Won’t Accept Election Results: ‘They’re Off the Runway’ Biden Rips Trump’s Refusal to Admit After Electoral College Vote Top GOP Senators Recognize Biden as President-Elect after Electoral College Votes MORE announced in October that Sudan would establish diplomatic ties with Israel, following the breakthrough in relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain.
The president has celebrated these diplomatic breakthroughs, known as the Abraham Accords, as one of his most important foreign policy achievements, and the White House is reportedly preparing a signing ceremony with Sudan ahead of the president-elect. Joe Biden
Joe BidenHogan on Republicans Won’t Accept Election Results: ‘They’re Not on the Job’ Biden Tears Up Trump’s Refusal to Admit After Electoral College Election Senate GOP Warns Biden Not to Elect Sally Yates as Attorney General MOREinauguration.
Sudanese officials have indicated that they are ready to withdraw from warming ties with the Jewish state if the Trump administration fails to secure legislation that protects Khartoum from terrorism-related lawsuits.
A source close to the negotiations said that withholding ties to Israel is the only guarantee that Sudan will ensure the legislation is passed before the Biden government takes office.
There is strong bipartisan support in Congress for supporting Sudan’s transitional democratic government. But more than a year of negotiations between the White House, the State Department and Capitol Hill have failed to reach an agreement that addresses the concerns of victims of terrorism and Sudan.
Critics blame the government for leaving Congress out of initial talks with Khartoum about handling claims of terrorist victims that were part of benchmarks for removing Sudan from the list of state sponsors of terrorism.
Sudan has put $ 335 million in an escrow account intended to compensate US victims of the 1998 double embassy attacks. Still, the money will not be released to the victims until legal peace law is passed. If the legislation is not passed in November 2021, the money will be released back to Sudan.
The negotiations become more fraught as the Trump administration strives to pass legal peace legislation before the president’s term ends.
Minority leader in the Senate Charles Schumer
Chuck Schumer Bill for Government Spending to Include Dual Energy Provisions ENERGY OF THE NIGHT: Countries Implement 2030 Paris Accord Goals In US Absence Biden Looks At New EPA Choices As Nichols Reportedly Falling Out of Grace | Kerry faces big job on climate, US credibility Trump faces bipartisan, international setback over Western Sahara recognition MORE (DN.Y.) and Bob Menendez
Robert (Bob) Menendez Lawmakers Call for Establishment of Latino, Women’s History Museums to Be Included in Year-End Deal Trump offered 0 million to victims of terrorism to save the Sudan-Israel deal. Night Defense: Biden defends choosing retired general to head the Pentagon | House passes week-long emergency shutdown expense account | Senate rejects attempt to block Trump’s arms sales in UAE (DN.J.) say they have proposed at least two legislative options.
“Key House and Senate Democrats both support versions of the Menendez-Schumer bill, and we are ready to pass either by the end of the year,” Schumer and Menendez said in a statement last week.
“We are strongly in favor of a successful transition to democracy in Sudan; making this deal work for victims of terrorism should not run counter to that goal. As negotiations with the Trump administration continue, we are calling on Republicans from the Senate and the State Department to work with us to make it a reality, ”she added.