Michael Moore, the provocative filmmaker who has made a career out of skewering automakers, gun enthusiasts and the administration of US President George W. Bush, is being investigated by the Treasury Department over a trip he made to Cuba for his new film, Sicko.
Earlier this month, the department sent a letter to Moore saying it was investigating whether he had violated restrictions on travel to Cuba when he accompanied sick workers seeking free medical care as part of a documentary on the US' health care industry.
On Moore's Web site, the film's producer, Meghan O'Hara, called the department's actions a "politically motivated investigation."
The ailing workers shown traveling to Cuba in the film had helped clean up the World Trade Center site after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
The letter from the Treasury Department asked for detailed information about the trip, including evidence that Moore was employed as a journalist.
The government also sought the name and address of the travel agent who made the reservations, receipts and the names and addresses of all those who went on the trip. News of the letter was first reported by The Associated Press.
US citizens face "civil and/or criminal penalties" for unauthorized travel to the communist country, the US Treasury Department warned in a letter to the Oscar-winning director that was posted on Moore's Web site on Thursday.
The agency "issues hundreds of letters each year asking for additional information when possible sanctions violations have occurred," Treasury spokeswoman Molly Millerwise said.
Chris Lehane, who was press secretary to Vice President Al Gore and has been retained by the Weinstein Co, the film's distributor, said the Treasury Department had been aware of the trip for a long time.
Harvey Weinstein, a co-founder of the company, said the timing of the letter suggested an attack by the Bush administration meant to discredit the film.
But Weinstein said: "They are only causing more publicity. It's so ironic. They should let sleeping dogs lie."
He said he was concerned that the Treasury Department would try to prevent the part of the movie shot in Cuba from being shown.
Sicko is set to open at the Cannes Film Festival in France next Saturday.
SEEKING CHANGE: A hospital worker said she did not vote in previous elections, but ‘now I can see that maybe my vote can change the system and the country’ Voting closed yesterday across the Solomon Islands in the south Pacific nation’s first general election since the government switched diplomatic allegiance from Taiwan to Beijing and struck a secret security pact that has raised fears of the Chinese navy gaining a foothold in the region. The Solomon Islands’ closer relationship with China and a troubled domestic economy weighed on voters’ minds as they cast their ballots. As many as 420,000 registered voters had their say across 50 national seats. For the first time, the national vote also coincided with elections for eight of the 10 local governments. Esther Maeluma cast her vote in the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
HYPOCRISY? The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday asked whether Biden was talking about China or the US when he used the word ‘xenophobic’ US President Joe Biden on Wednesday called for a hike in steel tariffs on China, accusing Beijing of cheating as he spoke at a campaign event in Pennsylvania. Biden accused China of xenophobia, too, in a speech to union members in Pittsburgh. “They’re not competing, they’re cheating. They’re cheating and we’ve seen the damage here in America,” Biden said. Chinese steel companies “don’t need to worry about making a profit because the Chinese government is subsidizing them so heavily,” he said. Biden said he had called for the US Trade Representative to triple the tariff rates for Chinese steel and aluminum if Beijing was