Michael Moore's Attorney Says Cuba Investigation Product of Discrimination

June 11th, 2007 1:33 PM

Michael Moore has teamed up with former Al Gore lawyer David Boies to defend himself from a Treasury Department investigation into a trip he took to Cuba for a movie. The trip was not authorized by the U.S. government and Moore seems to think that despite this, he should be let off the hook since he's obviously being investigated for political reasons:

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.