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Fayed sues U.S. government seeking information on deaths of son and Princess Diana

Al Fayed, father of Dodi Fayed, appears in a taped statement saying the U.S. government is holding secret documents that may prove his son and Princess Diana were murdered

By Raju Chebium
CNN.com Correspondent

WASHINGTON (CNN) - Egyptian billionaire Mohamed Al Fayed is pursuing two legal avenues in an effort to force the U.S. government to turn over materials related to the deaths of Al Fayed's son, Dodi, and Britain's Princess Diana, killed in a car crash three years ago. Al Fayed has maintained the deaths were part of a conspiracy to prevent the couple from marrying.

Washington attorney David Kendall will represent Al Fayed in a bid to get the U.S. government to respond to a subpoena seeking documents, tapes and other information from the U.S. intelligence community. Kendall represented President Bill Clinton during the impeachment process.

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Maryland courts denied one subpoena. The government is appealing a D.C. federal district court judge's decision to grant the other one, Zaid said. An appeal hearing is scheduled for September 6, where Kendall will represent Al Fayed. Kendall told CNN.com that he has represented the owner of London's Harrods luxury department store for at least 15 years.

Also on Thursday, Al Fayed sued the government seeking the same documents he is requesting through the subpoenas. Al Fayed has maintained the deaths were part of a conspiracy to prevent the couple from marrying and seeks the documents to verify his claim.

Zaid said the 36-page lawsuit, which invokes the Freedom of Information Act, names many federal agencies involved in intelligence work, such as the Central Intelligence Agency and the National Security Agency. The government has 30 days to respond.

Thursday marks the third anniversary of the Paris car crash that killed Dodi, Diana and the driver of Mercedes, Henri Paul. French authorities say Paul was drunk and driving fast, causing the crash. A French judge closed the crash investigation in September 1999.

Zaid said he sued after the government refused to turn over the documents sought through FOIA requests and after Al Fayed got nowhere with the subpoenas.

"The effort of the lawsuit and purpose is to obtain any information from the United States government. There is clearly, and we know for a fact, information in its possession, some of which is quite suspicious," Zaid said after a news conference Wednesday to announce the filing of the lawsuit.

"Whether or not that ties into a conspiracy theory is going to have to be left up to everyone who reads those documents, assuming the United States government ever agrees to release them," he added.

For example, the NSA has tapes of telephone conversations between the couple, Zaid alleged. Al Fayed said in a written statement that the NSA has more than 1,000 pages of information on Diana and Dodi. He also alleged that the agency has "apparently" shared secret information with MI6, the British intelligence agency.

Zaid said he is not accusing the United States of being involved in the deaths. But he accused the United States of withholding information that could shed light on the deaths.

Diana, Princess of Wales

In a written statement, Al Fayed reiterated his belief that the deaths resulted from a conspiracy.

"The car crash that took the lives of these two lovely people has been portrayed as a traffic accident caused by a drunk driving at high speed. The reality is that it was murder," Al Fayed wrote.

He wrote that Britain's royalty "would never have accepted my son, a naturally tanned, curly-haired Egyptian, being married to the mother of the future king of England and becoming his stepfather."

The U.S. denies any involvement in the deaths. CIA spokesman Tom Crispell characterized as "totally unfounded" suggestions that the CIA spied on Dodi and Diana or knew of any plot to assassinate the pair.

One year later, Diana's life and death remembered
August 31, 1998
Dodi's dad says fatal wreck was no accident
February 12, 1998
New book says Diana, Dodi planned to marry
February 7, 1998
World watches as Britain bids farewell to Diana
August 1997
Doctors: Diana's injuries impossible to survive
August 31, 1997
Diana hurt, beau killed in crash
August 30, 1997

The death of Princess Diana
Diana: A Remembrance

Official site of the British Monarchy
Diana, Princess of Wales
The official website of Mohamed Al Fayed

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