The American Jewish Congress two year battle with the Treasury Department in an effort to compel the Department to reveal the extent of Arab dollar holdings in the United States was served a severe setback today when the Supreme Court, without comment, refused to hear an appeal from the AJC against a lower court decision supporting the Department’s right to bar disclosure of American holdings of individual Arab states.
The government had contended that it was justified in withholding the data on the grounds that disclosure would harm national security, although the International Investment Survey Act of 1976 requires the Treasury to collect and publish data about foreign investment in the United States. The AJC claimed the national security issue was merely a pretext for hiding the extent of Arab financial power and influence in this country.
The suit against the Treasury Department was brought by the Jewish organization in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia after the Administration rejected a request for data on Arab holdings.
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