WASHINGTON _ A billionaire Nigerian businessman and major Clinton Foundation donor banned two years ago from entering the U.S. on terrorism grounds has settled a lawsuit against the U.S. government.
Gilbert Chagoury last year sued the FBI and other government agencies in U.S. District Court in Washington, saying he had been damaged by what he described as improper government leaks to the Los Angeles Times.
The Times reported last year that he had been denied a visa to travel to the U.S. in 2015 on suspicion that he had provided aid to terrorist groups. One document, citing unverified information from an unnamed source, said that Chagoury _ who was born in Lebanon _ had funneled funds to Hezbollah, the Lebanese militia and political group designated a terrorist organization by the U.S.
Chagoury, an ardent Los Angeles Lakers fan who for decades lived part of the year in Los Angeles, angrily denied that he ever provided funds for terrorism. He said the publicity forced him to sell his Beverly Hills mansion at a loss and caused a bank to close his account.
A philanthropist, Vatican ambassador and longtime friend of Bill Clinton, Chagoury once was invited to the White House after contributing to a Democratic get-out-the-vote campaign. He donated at least $1 million to the Clinton Foundation.
Emails released last year showed that a Bill Clinton aide pushed Hillary Clinton's aides at the State Department to get Chagoury access to top U.S. diplomats.
In the settlement filed in court on Friday, the Justice Department said Chagoury has never appeared on the list of Specially Designated Nationals, figures such as terrorists and narcotics traffickers who are generally barred from doing business in the U.S.
The government did not grant Chagoury's request for a court hearing to dispute the reports that led to his exclusion from the U.S.
"As I have often said, I have loved America my whole life because it was the land of freedom and justice," he said in a statement, adding that he hopes the agreement will help repair his reputation.
The Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Chagoury, who lives most of the time in Paris, has not applied for another visa, said his spokesman, Mark Corallo.
