The measure, which was unanimously passed by both the House and Senate, enables the families of victims of the September 11th attacks to sue Saudi Arabia if that country is found legally liable for helping support the deadliest terrorist acts on US soil. But, he said, “the JASTA would be detrimental to US national interests more broadly, which is why I am returning it without my approval”.
Advertisement
He stressed that the bill departs from longstanding standards and practice under US Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act and threatens to strip all foreign governments of immunity from judicial process in the country based exclusively upon allegations by private litigants that a foreign government’s overseas conduct had some role or connection to a group or person that carried out a terrorist attack inside the United States.
If that happens, it would be the first override of Obama’s presidency.
Al-Qaeda militants seized control of and deliberately downed four USA passenger planes on September 11, 2001, killing 2,996 people.
The expectation is that 9/11 families will sue the Saudi Arabian government to try and determine if the Saudis were involved in the helping the hijackers.
The bill is an outgrowth of lawsuits filed by the Center City law firm Cozen O’Connor and other firms maintaining that Saudi Arabia funded Islamist charities that, in turn, bankrolled al Qaeda in the years before the attacks, in addition to providing other support.
The Senate passed the bill in May.
The New York senator called Obama’s veto “disappointing”, and said justice shouldn’t be “thrown overboard because of diplomatic concerns”. The issue is one of a few where Democrat Hillary Clinton has publicly disagreed with Obama, with her campaign saying Friday that she supports the bill.
Obama, in a statement accompanying his veto message, said he had “deep sympathy” for the 9/11 families and their desire to see justice for their relatives.
“This would invite consequential decisions to be made based upon incomplete information and risk having different courts reaching different conclusions about the culpability of individual foreign governments and their role in terrorist activities directed against the United States”, Obama said.
Congress is expected to adjourn sometime next week until after the November election, but House and Senate leaders want to deal with the veto before they leave.
Saudi Arabia, a key United States ally in the Middle East, strongly objected to the bill.
The Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act (JASTA) bill, passed by both the chambers of the Republican controlled Congress, would have jeopardized the long standing global principles regarding sovereignty and would have made adverse impact with United States interests and nationals overseas, Obama said. Saudi Arabia also filed FARA paperwork this week establishing a new contract with lobbying firm SGR worth $45,000 per month, and entered into an arrangement with the Glover Park Group for an as-of-yet undisclosed sum, according to filings. “It’s not hard to imagine other countries using this law as an excuse to haul USA diplomats or US service members or even US companies into courts all around the world”. A successful override would be the first of Obama’s presidency. By comparison, former President George W. Bush was overridden twice during his two terms in office and only in his final two years when his approval rating had plummeted.
Advertisement
Behind the scenes, Riyadh has been lobbying furiously for the bill to be scrapped. And, lawmakers say, it’s hard to look 9/11 families in the eye and tell them they shouldn’t be able to seek justice. Saudi Foreign Minister Adel bin Ahmed Al-Jubeir said in May the kingdom never issued threats, but had merely warned that investor confidence in the USA would shrink if the bill became law. Those papers traced a link between some Saudi diplomats and citizens and the hijackers before the attack. The allegations were never substantiated by later USA investigations into the terrorist attacks.
