US lawmakers press Bush on Saudi financing data

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http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N31354678.htm

WASHINGTON, July 31 (Reuters) - Members of a Senate committee on Thursday pressed the Bush administration on whether it has shielded some Saudi Arabian organizations accused of financing terrorist groups from possible U.S. economic sanctions.

With mounting criticism over the administration's refusal to disclose part of a Sept. 11 report thought to center on Saudi Arabia, members of the Governmental Affairs Committee demanded a list of Saudi entities that a Treasury Department agency recommended be sanctioned as terrorism financiers.

They also asked how often the Office of Foreign Assets Control's recommendations were rejected in interagency reviews.

Critics have said the administration has been too eager to placate the oil-rich nation in the face of accusations its government has turned a blind eye to Saudi wealth underwriting terror organizations around the world.

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