Obama vetoes bill to let 9/11 families sue Saudi Arabia

Sep 28, 2016, 02:16

Barack Obama has vetoed a bill that would have allowed the families of 9/11 victims to sue the government of Saudi Arabia, setting up the possibility the US Congress may override his veto for the first time in his presidency. The legislation, according to Obama, could leave American troops and diplomats overseas vulnerable to lawsuits in foreign courts from people seeking redress for actions taken by armed groups that are backed or trained by the United States.

Obama said in a letter sent to the Senate that the bill would "remove sovereign immunity in USA courts from foreign governments that are not designated state sponsors of terrorism".

"I have deep sympathy for the families of the victims of the terrorist attacks of September 11 2001", Mr Obama wrote to the Senate in a veto message about the bill, known as the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has pledged to hold an override vote next week, and House Speaker Paul Ryan says there is enough support in his chamber tooverturn the veto. Out of President Bill Clinton's 36 vetoes, two were overridden; President George H.W. Bush had 29 vetoes (in one term) and lost only one.

Obama issued the veto behind closed doors Friday without fanfare, reluctant to call attention to a debate that has pitted him against the families of terrorism victims.

Fifteen of the 19 September 11 hijackers were Saudi nationals, and speculation continues to persist over links at least a few of them had to other Saudis, including government officials.

The secretary said the bill, if signed into law, would open up potentially U.S. service members and USA diplomats to being hauled into court under spurious charges or claims in a way that would force the United States to expend significant resources and in some cases diplomatic capital to go and defend them. Saudi Arabia, a key United States ally, strongly objected to the bill.

This bipartisan legislation was passed unanimously by both houses of Congress and would have allowed the families of the almost 3,000 people slaughtered by radical Islamic terrorists on September 11, 2001, the opportunity to seek justice in an American court of law. "Our assumption is that the veto will be overridden".

"If elected president, I would sign such legislation should it reach my desk", Trump said.

Obama's opposition to JASTA not only threatens to tarnish his legacy as a defender of American interests among lawmakers, survivors of September 11 and ordinary USA citizens, but has also put him in direct conflict with his former Secretary of State and Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton. He said Obama's veto was "shameful and will go down as one of the low points of his presidency". The White House hopeful backs "the ability of 9/11 families and other victims of terror to hold accountable those responsible", her spokesman, Jesse Lehrich, told reporters.