He represents NY, home of most of the September 11 victims.
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President Barack Obama vetoed Friday a bill that would allow family members of 9/11 victims to sue Saudi Arabia.
An override in this case would mark the first time in Obama’s two terms that one of his vetoes was rejected.
Families of terror victims have lobbied for the bill, which would allow them to sue Saudi Arabian officials who intelligence agencies have suggested had ties to the hijackers of the four planes used in the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on NY and Washington.
The Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act passed through the Senate in May and House of Representatives on the eve of the 15th year anniversary of 9/11, both by voice vote and without opposition.
The White House has argued the bill would undermine the longstanding practice of sovereign immunity and expose US diplomats, service members and, in some cases, businesses to “spurious” lawsuits around the world.
Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, another of the bill’s sponsor, criticized Obama for failing to listen to the families of the victims and said he looked forward to the opportunity for Congress to override the veto.
However, the bill “would be detrimental to US national interests more broadly, which is why I am returning it without my approval”.
Obama now faces the very real prospect of Republican and Democratic lawmakers joining forces to override his veto for the first time in his presidency.
Two-thirds of the House and Senate are needed to override the veto.
The override votes likely will take place next week.
Even New York’s own Chuck Schumer, the next leader of the Senate Democrats, is on board – as is Nancy Pelosi, the leader of the House Democrats.
“Clinton continues to support the efforts by Senator (Chuck) Schumer and his colleagues in Congress to secure the ability of 9/11 families and other victims of terror to hold accountable those responsible”, said Jesse Lehrich, a Clinton spokesman.
The families advocating for the bill, in a response circulated by their lawyers insisted the measure would deter terrorism, “no matter how much the Saudi lobbying and propaganda machine may argue otherwise”.
President Obama, in his veto message, said the bill would undermine the USA government’s ability to act against countries sponsoring terrorism. They’d have to prove the government knowingly or recklessly supported terrorism. “Many of those countries do not respect the rule of law, and we can not expect their responses to be as measured and narrow as ours”.
Riyadh has denied any involvement in the attacks, the worst terrorism ever in the U.S. However, 15 of the 19 airline hijackers who commandeered four passenger jets to carry out assaults in NY and Washington were identified as Saudis.
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. Saudi Arabia, a key USA ally, strongly objected to the bill.
Obama also anxious the bill would allow foreign citizens to sue USA military and diplomats living overseas.
Saudi Arabia has argued that it had nothing to do with the attacks, and the 9/11 Commission also said it did not find a connection. The US relies on the Saudis to counter Iran’s influence in the Middle East and help combat the spread of terrorism. The White House worries that the nation’s diplomats and even business leaders could be put at risk by such legislation. The bill was earlier passed in the House and Senate without any dissents, but since then several lawmakers have expressed misgivings with the measure echoing same concerns voiced by the White House.
Hillary Clinton supports the bill and her campaign said she’d sign it into law if it was to come to her desk as president.
“President Obama’s veto of the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act is shameful and will go down as one of the low points of his presidency”, he said in a statement”.
Justifying his decision, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said Obama is much more anxious about the long-term impact of this legislation on the United States national security as compared to his daily interactions with members of the Congress.
In recent days, some of the measure’s supporters in Congress have expressed misgivings about the legislation, prompting a new effort by the administration to lobby against the bill.
Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister had warned that the bill could cause his government to withdraw U.S. investments.
Saudi Arabia has always been accused of supporting the hijackers – charges which Saudi leadership strongly denies. The result, according to the White House, is that American officials could be sued in foreign courts over USA military or diplomatic actions overseas.
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The release this summer of the previously-classified 28 pages of the Joint Inquiry report into the 9/11 attacks renewed focus on both the events and victims of the terrorist acts.
