Michael Moore Fights Back Over Cuba "Sicko" Visit

By Anastacia Mott Austin

Today Michael Moore posted a response to the US Treasury Department’s threat to begin a civil investigation of his February 2007 trip to Cuba with sick Ground Zero workers. Moore released to the public Thursday the letter sent to him by the Treasury Department.

The Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, which is conducting the investigation, is "required to investigate potential violations of these programs. In doing so, OFAC issues hundreds of letters each year asking for additional information when possible sanctions violations have occurred," stated AnnMarie Houser, Treasury spokesperson, to the press.

Moore had applied in October of 2006 to be permitted to travel to Cuba as a journalist during the making of his upcoming film "Sicko." In the film he condemns the U.S. health-care system, especially in its treatment of the heroic first responders of New York’s Ground Zero after they began suffering ill effects. Moore took the trip with 10 of the workers to seek out better treatment than they had been getting in the United States.

A 1962 law bans citizens of the United States from traveling to Cuba unless specifically approved. It is not clear whether Moore provided the necessary information to be officially allowed to travel there, but in the letter he received, it stated that "no determination had been made by OFAC." Moore traveled to Cuba anyway.

Today, Moore responded to the action by addressing the United States Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson in a letter posted on the website The Daily Kos. "I understand why the Bush administration is coming after me – I have tried to help the very people they refuse to help, but until George W. Bush outlaws helping your fellow man, I have broken no laws and I have nothing to hide," writes Moore.

He adds further that the health care corporations he criticizes in his film made large contributions to Bush’s 2004 presidential campaign, explaining that his film "seeks to expose the health care industry’s greed and control over America’s political processes."

Harvey Weinstein, whose company The Weinstein Co. is endorsing "Sicko," told reporters that the film will appeal to both political parties, and its aim is to unite, rather than divide. "Both sides of the bench love the film," says Weinstein. "The pharmaceutical industry won’t like the movie. HMOs will try to run us out of town, but that’s not relevant to the situation. [The campaign was] …can Michael Moore bring both sides together?"

Weinstein stated that the publicity generated by the investigation will only serve to provide more exposure for the film, adding "The timing is amazing. You would think we originated this."

A spokesperson for Moore, Chris Lehane, told the Associated Press that Moore chose The Daily Kos to post his response because the website "has been leading the fight for real reforms – which is exactly what Michael does with his films."

"For five and a half years, the Bush administration has ignored and neglected the heroes of the 9/11 community," writes Moore. "These heroic first responders have been left to fend for themselves, without coverage and without care."