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Steve Myers
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Academy Award-winning filmmaker Michael Moore is under investigation by the U.S. Treasury Department for taking ailing Sept. 11 rescue workers to Cuba for a segment in his upcoming health-care documentary "Sicko," The Associated Press has learned.
The investigation provides another contentious lead-in for a provocative film by Moore, a fierce critic of President Bush. In the past, Moore's adversaries have fanned publicity that helped the filmmaker 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 Bush over his handling of Sept. 11 in "Fahrenheit 9/11."
The Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control notified Moore in a letter dated May 2 that it was conducting a civil investigation for possible violations of the U.S. trade embargo restricting travel to Cuba. A copy of the letter was obtained Tuesday by the AP.
"This office has no record that a specific license was issued authorizing you to engage in travel-related transactions involving Cuba," Dale Thompson, OFAC chief of general investigations and field operations, wrote in the letter to Moore.
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 filmmaker on the release of "Sicko." The person requested anonymity because Moore's attorneys had not yet determined how to respond.
Moore, who scolded Bush over the Iraq war during the 2003 Oscar telecast, received the letter Monday, the person said. "Sicko" premieres May 19 at the Cannes Film Festival and debuts in U.S. theaters June 29.
Moore declined to comment, said spokeswoman Lisa Cohen.
After receiving the letter, Moore arranged to place a copy of the film in a "safe house" outside the country to protect it from government interference, said the person working on the release of the film.
Treasury officials declined to answer questions about the letter. "We don't comment on enforcement actions," said department spokeswoman Molly Millerwise.
The letter noted that Moore applied Oct. 12, 2006, for permission to go to Cuba "but no determination had been made by OFAC." Moore sought permission to travel there under a provision for full-time journalists, the letter said.
According to the letter, Moore was given 20 business days to provide OFAC with such information as the date of travel and point of departure; the reason for the Cuba trip and his itinerary there; and the names and addresses of those who accompanied him, along with their reasons for going.
Potential penalties for violating the embargo were not indicated. In 2003, the New York Yankees paid the government $75,000 to settle a dispute that it conducted business in Cuba in violation of the embargo. No specifics were released about that case.
"Sicko" is Moore's followup to 2004's "Fahrenheit 9/11," a $100 million hit criticizing the Bush administration over Sept. 11. Moore's "Bowling for Columbine" won the 2002 Oscar for best documentary.
A dissection of the U.S. health-care system, "Sicko" was inspired by a segment on Moore's TV show "The Awful Truth," in which he staged a mock funeral outside a health-maintenance organization that had declined a pancreas transplant for a diabetic man. The HMO later relented.
At last September's Toronto International Film Festival, Moore previewed footage shot for "Sicko," presenting stories of personal health-care nightmares. One scene showed a woman who was denied payment for an ambulance ride after a head-on collision because it was not preapproved.
Moore's opponents have accused him of distorting the facts, and his Cuba trip provoked criticism from conservatives including former Republican Sen. Fred Thompson, who assailed the filmmaker in a blog at National Review Online.
"I have no expectation that Moore is going to tell the truth about Cuba or health care," wrote Thompson, the subject of speculation about a possible presidential run. "I defend his right to do what he does, but Moore's talent for clever falsehoods has been too well documented."
The timing of the investigation is reminiscent of the firestorm that preceded the Cannes debut of "Fahrenheit 9/11," which won the festival's top prize in 2004. The Walt Disney Co. refused to let subsidiary Miramax release the film because of its political content, prompting Miramax bosses Harvey and Bob Weinstein to release "Fahrenheit 9/11" on their own.
The Weinsteins later left Miramax to form the Weinstein Co., which is releasing "Sicko." They declined to comment on the Treasury investigation, said company spokeswoman Sarah Levinson Rothman.
© 2007 Associated Press.
http://newsmax.com/archives/ic/2007/5/10/73654.shtml?s=ic |
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Steve Myers |
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Thu May 10, 2007 10:51 am |
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Ryan Eashoo
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Gosh its sad that the US Treasury Dept has nothing better to do with their time
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| The Helmsford-Burton Act was broken, why shouldn't he be investigated like everyone else? |
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Tue May 22, 2007 7:37 am |
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Ryan Eashoo
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He is a journalist and did not break any law!
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Flint Michigan Resident, Tax Payer, Flint Nutt - Local REALTOR - Activist. www.FlintTown.com |
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Tue May 22, 2007 6:04 pm |
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andi03
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I was mistaken its called the Helms-Burton Act, not the one that I mentioned in my prior post........<sigh>. Sorry.
Did he or did he not take "ailing 9/11 rescue workers" to Cuba? Was this to seek treatment for them, instead of here? If so, he is violating the "economic" embargo that was placed in 1996, in sending the workers there to seek treatment IF that is the case, he/they would be "giving" money to the Cuban government, in the form of a business transaction, health care.
He put the freedom of the injured workers in jeopardy, by barging on with this, as they could be thrown in jail or fined immensely, they could use the money for their court costs for medical help. They too could be penalized for going with him.
Did he comply with the State Department in filling out the forms and give any indication as to why he was traveling there? If not, then he should not be treated any differently then the "regular journalists" or the regular Joe that wishes to see his family. It's okay for one person to break the law and not another?
Another possible scenario: If the ailing workers did not have the correct paperwork filled out he could also have penalties against him for the "traffiking" of these individuals.
He is a filmmaker and NOT a journalist. He started out as a journalist, but can be no longer be construed as one, because he likes the publicity too much and wallows in the quagmire that HE creates for himself and cries foul at the people that criticize the very thing that he makes films about.
Is Mr. Moore above the law, in order to get information?
The first movies were fine and I liked them completely, but it seems to me that the predatory type of attitude on the less fortunate and making an example of them is getting old and he may be losing the message that he wishes to send to his foes.
I feel that I must type a disclaimer here, I am in no way, shape or form alluding to the fact that I endorse the current administration. This could also be construed as some form of allegience to Castro, which should not be taken lightly, due to the prior history of our countries relationships, I know that's how I view it.
He could have taken them to any other country in the world, he made his bed and now he has to sleep in it.............all for the sake of the almighty dollar and politics? Oy vey.
Andi |
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Tue May 22, 2007 6:44 pm |
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Biggie9
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quote:
Ryan Eashoo schreef:
He is a journalist and did not break any law!
he is?
i thought he was a movie maker?
there IS a difference. |
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Biggie |
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Tue May 22, 2007 9:10 pm |
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Biggie9
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I don't know the details and don't know if what I hear is true...but lets face it, IF he did take sick people to Cuba to "prove" a point, its a false one.
This country's enemies would jump, as apparently castro did, to provide any special treatment to anyone for anything if it was being filmed or for the publicity [see Hugo Chavez]. But as a matter of course, their health care, why it may be "free" doesn't have the resources, techno;ogy etc of ours.
To presume that any citizen could walk off the street and get whatever special care necessary is a point I AM NOT buying if that is what MM is implying. I have no trouble believing that Castro's gov't ensured that WHATEVER these american citizens required would be supplied even if it was above and beyond their normal capabilities. Again their motivation is to tweak publicly their enemy, the US government.
BUT.
If it were possible, I would gather up every illegal alien across every hospital & clinic in our country, every poor citizen with serious, chronic and acute health problems, form a reverse mariel boat lift and ship them all to Cuba...and say:
"With the US's compliments, dear Cubans, our health care system capabilities are far inferior to yours....please, as you showed mercy and charity to MM's entourage, please look after these 10,000 -100,000-millions of "sickos" for us...they really do need and deserve YOUR fine medical attention.
Oh, and don't send them back until they are cured.
thanks much!
your pals, the notre americanos
yes sir that would provide the cubans the spotlight they richly deserve, address a growing problem of ours, a win/win for all. |
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Biggie |
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Tue May 22, 2007 9:27 pm |
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andi03
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The only thing that I keep scratching my head over is: Cuba!?  No matter how you or I slice it. |
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Wed May 23, 2007 1:33 pm |
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Biggie9
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quote:
andi03 schreef:
The only thing that I keep scratching my head over is: Cuba!? No matter how you or I slice it.
guess he couldn't get them in to see a Canadian doctor for a few months, and it didn't fit the film schedule.
seriously....its intentional, and probably cheaper than going to Venezuela who would probably love to lavish attention and resources o nthe victims, not for their benefit, but to score some political points.
this is where I depart the train of MM's method's. You can prove an adversary wrong without being gratuitous or hysterical.
but that's my naivety speaking, no doubt. |
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Biggie |
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Wed May 23, 2007 4:12 pm |
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andi03
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| Biggie, you're not naive, my dear!!! |
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Wed May 23, 2007 7:01 pm |
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Ryan Eashoo
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No not at all Andi03!
quote:
andi03 schreef:
Biggie, you're not naive, my dear!!!
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Flint Michigan Resident, Tax Payer, Flint Nutt - Local REALTOR - Activist. www.FlintTown.com |
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Tue Jun 05, 2007 10:31 pm |
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Ryan Eashoo
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Biggie Do you think the Insurance Industry is in excellant condition here in the US of A?
quote:
Biggie9 schreef:
quote:
andi03 schreef:
The only thing that I keep scratching my head over is: Cuba!? No matter how you or I slice it.
guess he couldn't get them in to see a Canadian doctor for a few months, and it didn't fit the film schedule.
seriously....its intentional, and probably cheaper than going to Venezuela who would probably love to lavish attention and resources o nthe victims, not for their benefit, but to score some political points.
this is where I depart the train of MM's method's. You can prove an adversary wrong without being gratuitous or hysterical.
but that's my naivety speaking, no doubt.
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Flint Michigan Resident, Tax Payer, Flint Nutt - Local REALTOR - Activist. www.FlintTown.com |
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Tue Jun 05, 2007 10:32 pm |
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Biggie9
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Ryan,
that is a vague question.
first are we talking ALL types of insurance, or strictly medical insurers? |
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Biggie |
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Tue Jun 05, 2007 10:47 pm |
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Ryan Eashoo
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All types of insurance!
quote:
Biggie9 schreef:
Ryan,
that is a vague question.
first are we talking ALL types of insurance, or strictly medical insurers?
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Flint Michigan Resident, Tax Payer, Flint Nutt - Local REALTOR - Activist. www.FlintTown.com |
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Wed Jun 06, 2007 1:17 pm |
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