The Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act would allow the families of 9/11 victims to sue Saudi Arabia in USA courts over its “alleged ties to the terrorists who carried out the attacks”, The Washington Post reports.
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The bill passed the Senate and House of Representatives in reaction to long-running suspicions, denied by Saudi Arabia, that hijackers of the four usa jetliners that attacked the United States in 2001 were backed by the Saudi government.
Current law would allow the families of victims to sue countries designated as state sponsors of terror, The Hill notes, but JASTA would expand that allowance to include countries like Saudi Arabia, who aren’t labeled as such.
The bill, called the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act, was passed unanimously by the House on May 17 and by the Senate on September 9. Second, JASTA would upset longstanding worldwide principles regarding sovereign immunity, putting in place rules that, if applied globally, could have serious implications for USA national interests.
A group named 9/11 Families & Survivors United for Justice Against Terrorism released a statement Friday saying it is “outraged and dismayed” over the president’s veto, arguing that his reasoning is “unconvincing and unsupportable”.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat from CT, told the New York Times that voting against Obama wouldn’t be easy, but he planned to do so on principle.
“Members think that families should have their day in court”, Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic leader in the House, said Thursday, although she said some of the concerns raised by the White House are legitimate. If successful, Congress’ override will be the first of Obama’s presidency.
“This is just the latest snub of Saudi Arabia from the US Congress”, Al Jazeera’s White House correspondent Patty Culhane, reporting from Washington, said ahead of Obama’s veto.
Saudi Arabia also reportedly threatened to pull billions of dollars from the U.S. economy, although the country’s foreign minister has denied it has made any threats over the bill.
Fifteen of the 19 hijackers of the September 11 terror attacks were from Saudi Arabia, and it has always been suspected that people in the Saudi government helped finance those terrorists.
Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton had also said she supports JASTA.
So far, none of President Obama’s 12 presidential vetoes have been overridden by Congress.
Third, the bill threatens to create complications in US relationships with even its closest partners, whose counterterrorism cooperation with the USA will be limited in future.
“It’s why the President’s going to veto it”.
Congressional leaders have indicated they are not interested in extending this process any longer, and expect to hold override votes soon after Obama issues his anticipated veto.
On Saturday, lawmakers threatened to reverse the presidential veto by securing a two-thirds majority in the House and Senate, which would be an unprecedented blow to Obama. Riyadh has denied any involvement in the attacks.
Earnest also said private concerns expressed by lawmakers don’t match public votes that are cast.
Congressional sources said White House appeals to security-minded senators like Dianne Feinstein may yet be enough to avoid the rebuke.
“We certainly are counting votes and having a number of conversations with members of Congress in both parties in both houses of Congress”, Earnest said. “Even more disappointing is the President’s refusal to listen to the families of the victims taken from us on September 11th, who should have the chance to hold those behind the deadliest terrorist attack in American history accountable”.
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Suffering his first veto override so late in his second term would be significant, especially considering the president’s high approval ratings relative to the rest of his presidency. “Our assumption is that the veto will be overridden”.
