In response to the ruling Enterprises Shipping & Trading (EST), the dry-bulk arm of Victor Restis’s shipping empire, argued that it has been denied an opportunity to ascertain the underlying motives behind the organisation’s ‘name and shame’ campaign against its chairman.
"It is evident both to us and everyone else observing this unfair attack, on a non-US national and private individual, that UANI enjoys some form of privileged relationship with the US government,” the operator continued.
EST argued that it was able to prove that the advocacy group is not a real non-governmental organisation but remains “saddened” by the lack of transparency surrounding its relationship with the US intelligence community.
“As a group of private enterprises, we sought fairness and transparency through the US justice System, but we are disappointed that we have failed to have our day in court due to opaque reasons beyond our control,” it added.
“We can only express our concern that outfits like UANI have a government-granted license to defame and harass without any legal consequences.”
“We strongly feel that UANI’s purported mission, however noble it is, has been abused and the victims of this abuse cannot seek fairness due to what, we believe, is a misguided given immunity.”
As we reported the court overseeing the case against UANI dismissed the complaint after determining that it posed a threat to protected government secrets.
Restis and EST sued UANI in 2013 alleging that the organisation committed defamation when it accused him of doing business with Iran.
But government lawyers filed papers seeking to stop the litigation from moving forward because its fact-finding phase could lead to revelations that would harm national security.
While EST feels it was denied its day in court observers note that the outcome of the initiative suggests UANI’s ties to the US government run much deeper than previously understood. One individual argued that this amounts to a “small but significant victory”.
When Restis and the non-profit first locked horns the organisation’s leader, former US ambassador Mark Wallace, refuted allegations that it relied on “questionable sources of funding” when pressed to respond to some of the tycoon’s claims.
“We are a IRS sanctioned not-for-profit 501(c)(3) public charity that takes donations from the broad spectrum of the general public,” he told TradeWinds at the time. He added: “We are beholden to no one.”
Some observers are convinced that UANI is an agent of the US government, a conclusion they made when Uncle Sam first intervened in the case. Others think private companies use it as a vehicle to attack competitors.
UANI issued the following statement about the dismissal of the defamation case:
“We welcome today's federal court decision dismissing Mr. Restis' lawsuit in its entirety. Since its filing we have consistently maintained that Mr. Restis' suit was meritless.
“United Against Nuclear Iran is a bipartisan not-for-profit policy and advocacy organization that will not be silenced by intimidation or threat.
“Through economic and social means and through the exercise of their First Amendment rights, the officers and staff of UANI have acted courageously and patriotically in their efforts to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons.”
