9/11 victims are blocked from seizing $3.5 billion in frozen assets from Afghanistan because Biden would have to recognize the Taliban

• The families of 9/11 victims are blocked from seizing $3.5B in frozen Afghan central bank funds.
• A federal judge ruled that seizing the funds would mean recognizing the Taliban as legitimate rulers.
• It is up to President Joe Biden, not the courts, to make that decision, the judge ruled.

Efforts by the victims of 9/11 to seize $3.5 billion in frozen assets belonging to the Afghan Central Bank have failed because President Joe Biden's administration doesn't recognize the Taliban as the country's legitimate government.

A federal judge in New York ruled on Tuesday that seizure of the assets to pay off judgment debts would be blocked because federal courts lack the legal jurisdiction to approve the turnover of funds.