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‘A slap in the face’: 9/11 families say US-Sudan deal would torpedo two-decade lawsuit

The Trump administration has quietly reached an understanding with Sudan that some 9/11 families say puts Washington’s foreign policy objectives ahead of their quest for justice.

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New York Police Department clergy consoles Philomena Mistrulli, widow of construction worker Joseph Mistrulli, killed in the 9/11 World Trade Center attack, on Dec. 7, 2001, at a Christmas tree lighting ceremony at Ground Zero in New York City. Joseph and Philomena Mistrulli's daughter Angela is part of a lawsuit against Sudan related to 9/11. — Pool Photo/Getty Images

Nearly two decades after 9/11, some victims’ relatives are worried that a Trump administration deal to take Sudan off the US state sponsors of terror list and grant its government immunity from prosecution could jeopardize their own lawsuits accusing Khartoum of abetting al-Qaeda in the attack. 

Angela Mistrulli, whose father died in the World Trade Center’s north tower, called the State Department in May after she heard news of the potential delisting. She said officials claimed they were unaware the 9/11 families had active claims against Sudan.  

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