It sounds like a moderately compelling political thriller: the Government agency that was supposed to figure out what happened to your dead colleagues dropped the ball. Nobody will give you a straight answer about why. So you take matters into your own hands: you research; you examine documents; you figure it out and decide to make things right.
But this isn’t a movie. It’s the real life story of Wall Street firm Cantor Fitzgerald, a company that lost 658 of its 1050 employees in the World Trade Center. Delving into the murky depths of Al Qaida’s financial affairs — where the 9-11 Commission feared to tread — they have filed suit against a variety of Al Qaida financiers. The most notable of these is the nation of Saudi Arabia.
Cantor Fitzgerald is just big enough, just influential enough, and has just enough accountants in house to actually follow the money trail and make this stick. They are also big enough and have enough lawyers to push things to a higher court should the Department of Justice once again claim that the Alien Tort Claims Act is a relic and have the case thrown out.
This company knows how important it is to follow the money, a lesson that a young Senator named John Kerrry learned while investigating and closing down a corrupt bank and, incidentally, uncovering useful information on a wide range of drug dealers, terrorists, and other criminals. As Cantor Fitzgerald’s case unfolds in the courtroom, expect impeccable detective work and stunning revelations. This could tell us more about how and why September 11 happened than is currently known. It could also have disastrous consequences for the United States’ diplomatic ties with Saudi Arabia.
Speaking of raw figures and money, if you haven’t seen this list of Bush Administration accomplishments, it’s worth a read.