Supreme Court Sides Against USS Cole Survivors

USS Cole victims opposed at Supreme Court by unlikely partners: Sudan and US

The Washington Post
By ROBERT BARNES
Published: November 4, 2018

"It is mind-boggling that the government has decided in this case to side with a state sponsor of terrorism and against men and women who are seeking to recover for grievous injuries suffered in the service of our country," Shanmugam wrote in a brief to the court.

Sailors aboard the USS Ross frame President Bill Clinton and others during a USS Cole memorial service in Richmond in October 2000. ROBERT A. REEDER/WASHINGTON POST PHOTO

The road to recovery has been a long one for David Morales, who was injured during the al-Qaida attack on the USS Cole 18 years ago last month. And he knew it would be difficult to collect the nearly $315 million that he and others wounded in the attack were awarded in their suit against the Republic of Sudan.

But he didn't expect the case to go all the way to the Supreme Court, and he certainly didn't think he would see the Trump administration aligned with Sudan on the other side of the legal battle.

"I thought the United States would be on the side of its veterans," Morales said in a recent interview. "It was very surprising, especially with Mr. Trump in office. It seems like he is in support of veterans. It kind of hurts."

Years of litigation and millions of dollars in awards are on the line this week as the Supreme Court addresses a seemingly mundane question: whether notices of the lawsuits against Sudan were sent to the wrong address eight years ago.
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