Lawmakers vow to override Obama's veto of September 11 bill

Sep 29, 2016, 00:28
Lawmakers vow to override Obama's veto of September 11 bill

Saudi officials have reportedly told U.S. legislators they would be forced to sell billions of dollars' worth of USA assets in order to shield them from the lawsuits.

President Barack Obama places a wreath at the dateline of the Pentagon 9/11 Memorial.

President Barack Obama has vetoed a bill that would have allowed the families of 9/11 victims to sue the Government of Saudi Arabia, pitting him against the US Congress. This is particularly true in the Senate, which is seen as the body more likely to uphold the veto.

Meanwhile, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and US House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan have both said they would override the veto in a vote before Congress leaves town at the end of next week, according to US reports. Several Arab nations, mainly from the Gulf, had voiced their disapproval of the Congress bill passed two weeks ago. President Obama has warned that the precedent of allowing American victims to sue the Saudis for their role in the deadly 9/11 attack would also potentially open up the United States to lawsuits for its own substantial back catalogue of misdeeds.

The president said the bill, which does not refer specifically to Saudi Arabia, could backfire by opening up the United States government and its officials to lawsuits by anyone accusing America of supporting terrorism, rightly or wrongly.

Saudi Foreign Minister Adel bin Ahmed Al-Jubeir had warned lawmakers they were on a path to turning "the world for global law into the law of the jungle". This theoretically allows lawsuits against state sponsors of terror, though this often depends heavily on Congressional and presidential decrees singling out a specific country, which usually happens to be a rival at the time, to allow such a suit. Republicans, however, say they will override the veto. Saudi Arabiahas vehemently denied backing the airplane hijackers, but families of the victims have spent years pleading for the right to sue the oil-rich kingdom in USA courts for any role Saudi officials might have played in the attack.

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump was quick to capitalize on the veto, calling it a "low point" of Obama's presidency.

"As drafted, the JASTA would allow private litigation against foreign governments in US courts based on allegations that such foreign government's actions overseas made them responsible for terrorism- related injuries in USA soil", President Obama said.

Of the men who carried out the September 11 attacks, 15 of the 19 were Saudi nationals.

Hillary Clinton broke with Obama over the legislation, saying Friday through a spokesman she would sign the bill if she were president.

But Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., said he is confident Congress will overwhelmingly override Obama's veto.

"The families of the victims of 9/11 deserve their day in court, and justice for those families shouldn't be thrown overboard because of diplomatic concerns", he said.

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