Felix Sater Statement on Loretta Lynch Nomination

NEW YORK, Feb. 17, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- After months of criticism by certain conservative special interest groups questioning her nomination for Attorney General, Loretta Lynch publicly responded to a question posed by Utah Senator Orrin Hatch—a Republican member of the House Judiciary Committee—in a recent article. 

According to a spokesperson from Senator Hatch's office, because Ms. Lynch was not in a position to respond to the numerous allegations when these criticisms were initially raised, he wanted to give her a chance to answer the question of whether she had complied with federal laws that ensure restitution is provided to crime victims.

In 2013, law professor, Paul Cassell, had urged the House Judiciary Committee to review how Ms. Lynch's office had handled a case involving Felix Sater. In 1998, Mr. Sater pleaded guilty to fraud charges, agreed to assist the government with issues of national security and was ultimately sentenced by the Court to pay a $25,000 fine justified on numerous grounds  and seemingly in gratitude for his service to his country.  In the interest of national security, the safety of Mr. Sater, and other reasons related to his government cooperation, the court sealed his records.

In a letter to Senator Hatch, Ms. Lynch stated that Sater's assistance was critical to national security: "The defendant in question, Felix Sater, provided valuable and sensitive information to the government during the course of his cooperation, which began in or about December 1998. For more than 10 years, he worked with prosecutors from my Office, the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York and law enforcement agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and other law enforcement agencies, providing information crucial to national security and the conviction of over 20 individuals, including those responsible for committing massive financial fraud and members of La Cosa Nostra. For that reason, his case was initially sealed."

Indeed, Ms. Lynch confirmed the propriety of her actions with respect to Mr. Sater's case, his extraordinary cooperation, and especially his unprecedented assistance regarding matters involving our national security.  Additionally, she emphasized that every court, right up to the  U.S. Supreme Court has rejected all claims of any impropriety with respect to Mr. Sater's case.   

Although several conservative groups supposedly raised the questions about Ms. Lynch, there is supposition by Felix Sater's legal team, headed by Robert Wolf at Moses & Singer LLP.

These claims Ms. Lynch are also part of a failed attempt by Paul Cassell, Frederick Oberlander and Richard Lerner to expose the alleged impropriety of the sealing of Mr. Sater's case, and his $25,000 fine, as part of a claimed victims rights' crusade. Jody Kriss along with his attorneys, Frederick M. Oberlander and Richard E. Lerner, have engaged in a contemptuous seven year legal battle. It has also resulted in a Federal Judge referring Oberlander and Lerner to the Department of Justice.

SOURCE Felix Sater