The Hill News

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) distributed a letter on Twitter Monday that she says points to a 2009 effort on the part of BP to lobby Scottish authorities for the release of convicted Lockerbie bomber Abdelbasset al-Megrahi.

A hearing on the case is scheduled for Thursday.

The letter Gillibrand references was sent from Libyan British Business Council chairman Lord David Trefgarne to Scottish Justice Minister Kenny MacAskill in July 2009. It urges MacAskill to release al-Megrahi “because of the shadow which may otherwise fall over UK-Libyan relations ... and especially the interests of LBBC Scottish members.”

Gillibrand, who sits on the Senate Foreign Relations committee, called attention to it at a press conference in Times Square Monday, where she appeared with Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) and family members of the bombing victims.

She later tweeted: 

New evidence of #BP/al-Megrahi connection: ltr fr Libya-UK biz council to Scottish govt: http://bit.ly/9ye3Tk

Libya-UK biz council, which includes #BP, urged Scotts to release Al-Megrahi thru prisoner transfer or compassionate release.

Council made it clear that should Al-Megrahi die in prison in Scotland there wld be serious implications for UK-Libyan relations.

Menendez had preceded the press event with a tweet: 

British, Scottish govts don’t want to testify at Lockerbie hearing I will chair this wk. BP hasn’t answered. About to hold press conference.