No more global lawsuits

Unless Americans stop the trend toward global government, basic civil rights taken for granted in the United States will soon be rendered meaningless.

For instance, we have a First Amendment in America that protects the right to freedom of religion, freedom of speech and freedom of the press.

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These are not unlimited rights, of course. If an American defames someone, the offended party, whether an American or foreigner, has a right to pursue legal action in U.S. courts.

That is as it should be.

But, when Americans are subject to lawsuits in foreign courts for statements made in the United States, the First Amendment ceases to have much meaning. And that is basis of a landmark lawsuit filed in New York.

Rachel Ehrenfeld, author of "Funding Evil: How Terrorism Is Financed and How to Stop It," was sued last month in British courts by billionaire Saudi Sheikh Khalid Salim a bin Mahfouz. Ehrenfeld had charged Bin Mahfouz with endowing and arranging financing for a number of Islamic charities that have been accused of funding terrorism.

"There are currently over 10 lawsuits outstanding by numerous plaintiffs in the United States claiming billions of dollars in damages from Mahfouz's alleged involvement in financing the 9-11 attack of the World Trade Center," she asserts.

While Ehrenfeld's book was published in the United States, Bin Mahfouz sued Ehrenfeld for defamation in the United Kingdom, known for its liberal libel laws, where the onus is on the defendant to prove charges rather than vice versa.

Faced with the prospect of defending against a costly suit in a foreign court where the deck was stacked against her, Ehrenfeld chose to ignore the case, resulting in a default judgment against her. But now she is taking the unusual and precedent-setting step of filing a lawsuit of her own here in the United States against Bin Mahfouz.

Ehrenfeld is hardly alone.

She is one of hundreds of journalists and news agencies sued or threatened with lawsuits in foreign countries by wealthy Islamists with alleged links to terror groups. The United Kingdom, in particular, has become a magnet for such suits because it has no equivalent of First Amendment-style protections for freedom of the press and freedom of speech.

To say the least, these lawsuits are having a chilling effect on free speech and the free press in America.

My news organization has faced such threats for aggressively investigating terror connections. In some cases, only indictments by the U.S. Justice Department have prevented the possibility of massive judgments against us.

When America's Founding Fathers established this country with the Declaration of Independence and wrote the Constitution, it was an effort to set the country apart from the old world – to free its people of the old laws and create a shining city on a hill that could serve as an example to the rest of the world.

Today, with the U.S. Supreme Court looking to foreign laws and courts for precedents and international treaties subjecting Americans to laws for which they have no say, we are losing what made this country special, different, a unique experiment in freedom and justice.

That's why I am urging you to support Rachel Ehrenfeld in her courageous, possibly precedent-setting lawsuit in New York.

American journalists should be encouraged to investigate those who may present a clear and present danger to our country. In many cases, the work of journalists has led to government action to prevent future acts of terrorism.

Many people still wonder how Sept. 11 surprised us all. We don't want to be surprised again. Sometimes it takes the dogged determination of crusading journalists to find the truth.

Rachel Ehrenfeld is one of a handful of such crusaders – one of the world's foremost experts on terror funding. We cannot afford for her and others like her to be silenced by foreign lawsuits only designed to intimidate and harass.

I know Rachel Ehrenfeld. Few have come to her aid. She does not have the resources to battle with foreign billionaires – even in our own court system. Will you help her?

Support Rachel Ehrenfeld. Support freedom of speech. Support future exposes of terror connections.