Obama To Veto Bill Allowing 9/11 Victims To Sue Saudi Arabia

The White House has announced that President Barack Obama intends to veto a bipartisan bill that would allow for the families of 9/11 victims to sue U.S. ally Saudi Arabia for their suspected role in the terrorist attack.

The Senate had unanimously passed the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act (JASTA) in May by voice vote. On Sept. 9, the House unanimously passed the bill as well, making it one of the rare pieces of bipartisan legislation to make it through Congress.

Despite congressional support for the bill, the Obama administration has repeatedly signaled that the president would strike down it down with a veto. On Sept. 12, White House press secretary Josh Earnest that Obama was planning to reject the legislation.

“That is still the plan,” Earnest said, according to The Hill. “The president does plan to veto this legislation. I do anticipate the president will veto the legislation when it is presented to him. It hasn’t been presented to him yet.”

The Saudi Arabian government has never been directly implicated in the 9/11 terrorist attack but there have been suspicions that the U.S. ally had provided aid to the Al Qaeda hijackers. This bill would enable victims of the 9/11 attack to sue the Saudi Arabian government.

The Obama administration has pushed back against the bill, asserting that it could damage diplomatic relations with not just Saudi Arabia but other key U.S. allies in the Arabian Gulf.

Earnest has also explained concerns that the bill would create a new precedent that could endanger U.S. diplomats abroad, CNN reports.

“This legislation would change longstanding international law regarding sovereign immunity,” Earnest said. “And the President of the United States continues to harbor serious concerns that this legislation would make the United States vulnerable in other court systems around the world.”

Advocates for the legislation believe that there is enough bipartisan support in order to override Obama’s veto. The president has faced aggressive opposition from even Democratic lawmakers, with Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York spearheading support for the bill.

“There are always diplomatic considerations that get in the way of justice, but if a court proves the Saudis were complicit in 9/11, they should be held accountable,” Schumer said. “If they’ve done nothing wrong, they have nothing to worry about.”

Earnest indicated that Obama would not only veto the bill but would launch a lobbying campaign to dissuade U.S. lawmakers from overriding his veto.

“I would anticipate that the president will continue to explain his opposition to this legislation… up until Congress decides whether to override his veto,” Earnest said.

Saudi Arabian Minister Adel Al-Jubeir has slammed JASTA as a bill that would completely undercut the function of sovereign immunity, NBC News reports.

Al-Jubeir warned that the bill would turn “international law into the law of the jungle… that’s why every country in the world is opposed to it.”

On Sept. 11, 19 family members of 9/11 victims signed a letter addressed to President Obama, urging him to sign JASTA into law, CBS News reports.

“Please, Mr. President, don’t slam the door shut and abandon us,” the letter states. “We need the Executive Branch to join Congress and protect us and all future victims of terrorism.”

Sources: CBS News, CNN, The Hill, NBC News / Photo Credit: Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff/Flickr