The Hill News

Furthering his probe into the release of Abdelbaset al-Megrahi from a Scottish prison, Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) asked Monday for anyone with insider knowledge of the situation to share it with his office.

"All correspondence will remain confidential and identities will not be disclosed unless permission is granted," Menendez said of potential sources.

Al-Megrahi received life imprisonment in 2001 for the 1988 bombing of a Pan Am flight over Lockerbie, Scotland, in which 189 Americans died.

He was released in August 2009 on compassionate grounds after Scottish authorities found he had terminal cancer. He returned to his native Libya, where he remains alive almost one year later. 

Senators from New York and New Jersey have sought to investigate the circumstances surrounding al-Megrahi's release, alleging BP may have pressured the Scottish government for his repatriation in order to secure an oil deal. 

Scottish authorities have consistently denied any influence from BP. 

A Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing scheduled for late July to explore the matter was canceled after officials from BP and Scotland declined to appear.