Barack Obama on Friday vetoed a bill passed by the United States congress this month that would allow families of 9/11 victims to sue the Saudi government over alleged ties to the attacks.
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Obama long had objected, too, warning that if USA citizens are allowed to take the Saudis into court, then foreign countries could do the same to the United States, its diplomats and its service members.
While expressing “deep sympathy” for the families, Obama said the law would be “detrimental to United States national interests”. But they also have argued that USA law permits terrorism lawsuits against foreign governments only if the entire act takes place in this country.
In particular, the veto sets up a conflict between Obama and New York’s Chuck Schumer, who is both the presumptive Democratic leader in the Senate and a strong backer of JASTA.
Obama expressed “deep sympathy” for the families of 9/11 victims and a “deep appreciation” for their desire to pursue justice.
“The president understands that the talking points that are being prepared for the proponents of this bill have … political upside”, Earnest said.
Saudi officials have openly threatened to collapse the US Treasury market in retaliation if JASTA is signed into law, and that likely also plays no small role in administration aversion to the bill, though publicly they have downplayed that angle, and focused instead on the risk of damaging sovereign immunity as such.
The White House has warned that the legislation could prompt legal and economic retaliation from foreign governments. “My Administration therefore remains resolute in its commitment to assist these families in their pursuit of justice and do whatever we can to prevent another attack in the United States”, the president wrote in his veto message to Congress. The administration has begun courting lawmakers, particularly fellow Democrats, who may agree with the spirit of the legislation but could be swayed to Obama’s side by arguments about the potential geopolitical ramifications of the bill.
Families of the September 11 victims have been trying to sue the Saudi royal family, Saudi banks and charities in USA courts, on ground that the Saudi government provided financial support for terrorism.
“Clinton continues to support the efforts by Senator Schumer and his colleagues in Congress to secure the ability of 9/11 families and other victims of terror to hold accountable those responsible”. The allegations were never substantiated by later US investigations into the terrorist attacks.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., indicated Thursday that there was sufficient support in the House to override Obama’s veto. It would need 34 out of 100 senators to vote against the override, he said.
Obama also anxious the bill would allow foreign citizens to sue US military and diplomats living overseas.
Congress can override the veto, as long as the move garners a two-thirds vote in the House and Senate.
Still, the White House said it was unclear whether it had peeled off enough lawmakers to block a veto override.
The White House intentionally sent the veto on Friday, ahead of the weekend which will be followed by the Congressional recess when lawmakers head to their states to prepare for the elections of the U.S. House of Representatives that will take place in November, a sign that the Congress would not be able to override Obama’s veto until after the presidential polls.
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The number of lawmakers who plan to vote against the veto and reinstate Saudi Arabia’s exposure to legal action is hard to tally, according to the White House deputy press secretary, Josh Earnest, because of “the frequency with which we hear private concerns expressed that don’t match the public votes that are cast [later]”.
