President Obama plans to veto legislation passed by Congress that would allow the families of 9/11 victims to sue Saudi Arabia.
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The “Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act”, known as JASTA, would remove sovereign immunity, preventing lawsuits against governments, for countries found to be involved in terrorist attacks on US soil.
Now lawmakers are saying that if Obama vetoes the new bill then they would attempt to override his decision.
“We’ll see what Congress chooses to do from there”, White House press secretary Josh Earnest told reporters at his daily briefing.
The Senate had approved the legislation in May. They say Democrats who did not heed the administration’s initial arguments may come around when the issue is whether or not to override the president. The Senate has been aiming to leave Washington as soon as this week, before that deadline, and the House next week, and lawmakers would not be in Washington again until after the November 8 elections.
Politico reported that a presidential veto of the bill is “almost guaranteed”, given Obama’s opposition to it.
Sens. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Majority Whip John Cornyn, R-Texas, who introduced the bill that passed the upper chamber in May, said that its main objective is to to seek justice for the almost 3,000 people who were killed in terror attacks on September 11, 2001. Officials have emphasized the need to maintain the tradition of extending sovereign immunity to foreign officials, for the sake of ensuring that American officials don’t become subject to foreign lawsuits, or worse.
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Proponents of JASTA argue that if Saudi Arabia played no part in the September 11 attacks, then its government has nothing to fear. Other measures, like a bipartisan one that would seek to block the sale of some tanks to the kingdom, are also on the horizon.
A person touches the south reflecting pool at the National September 11 Memorial and Museum on the 15th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks in Manhattan, New York, U.S., September 11, 2016.
Saudi Arabia, however, is a USA military ally.
Saudi Arabia has been lobbying hard against the legislation. He cited the US military raid, authorized by the president, that killed al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden in 2011, among other things.
“If a court proves the Saudis were complicit in 9/11, they should be held accountable”, said Sen.
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“Congress has unanimously spoken”, Buchanan said in a statement, referring to a voice vote on Friday.
