Michael Moore investigated
May 11, 2007 12:00amFILMMAKER Michael Moore is being investigated by the US Treasury for taking ailing September 11 rescue workers to Cuba for a segment in his new film.
Treasury officials notified Moore in a letter dated May 2 they were investigating possible violations of the US trade embargo restricting travel to Cuba, during the making of his health care documentary Sicko.
The probe provides another contentious lead-in for a provocative film by Academy Award winner Moore, a fierce critic of President George W Bush.
Moore's adversaries have often fanned publicity, helping the film-maker create a new brand of opinionated blockbuster documentary.
Sicko promises to take the health care industry to task the way Moore confronted America's passion for guns in Bowling for Columbine and skewered Mr Bush over his handling of September 11 in Fahrenheit 9/11.
The letter was sent to Moore by Dale Thompson, senior investigator with the Office of Foreign Assets Control.
"This office has no record that a specific licence was issued authorising you to engage in travel-related transactions involving Cuba," Mr Thompson wrote.
In February, Moore took about 10 ailing workers from the Ground Zero rescue effort in Manhattan for treatment in Cuba, said a person working with the film-maker on the release of Sicko.
The person requested anonymity because Moore's lawyers had not yet determined how to respond.
Sicko premieres on May 19 at the Cannes Film Festival and debuts in US theatres on June 29.
Moore declined to comment, said a spokeswoman. Potential penalties for violating the embargo were not indicated.
- AP
Treasury officials notified Moore in a letter dated May 2 they were investigating possible violations of the US trade embargo restricting travel to Cuba, during the making of his health care documentary Sicko.
The probe provides another contentious lead-in for a provocative film by Academy Award winner Moore, a fierce critic of President George W Bush.
Moore's adversaries have often fanned publicity, helping the film-maker create a new brand of opinionated blockbuster documentary.
Sicko promises to take the health care industry to task the way Moore confronted America's passion for guns in Bowling for Columbine and skewered Mr Bush over his handling of September 11 in Fahrenheit 9/11.
The letter was sent to Moore by Dale Thompson, senior investigator with the Office of Foreign Assets Control.
"This office has no record that a specific licence was issued authorising you to engage in travel-related transactions involving Cuba," Mr Thompson wrote.
In February, Moore took about 10 ailing workers from the Ground Zero rescue effort in Manhattan for treatment in Cuba, said a person working with the film-maker on the release of Sicko.
The person requested anonymity because Moore's lawyers had not yet determined how to respond.
Sicko premieres on May 19 at the Cannes Film Festival and debuts in US theatres on June 29.
Moore declined to comment, said a spokeswoman. Potential penalties for violating the embargo were not indicated.
- AP
posted by Kangaroo Brisbane Australia at 2:20 PM
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