ADVERTISEMENT

Obama Will Veto Bill Allowing 9/11 Families to Sue Saudi Arabia

Barack Obama
AP
September 12, 2016

President Obama will veto legislation passed by Congress last week that would allow the families of Sept. 11 victims to sue Saudi Arabia over its alleged links to terrorism, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest announced Monday.

Earnest told reporters at the daily White House press briefing that the president has "significant" concerns with the bill because it could set a precedent that puts Americans at risk of being perpetually sued by foreign citizens.

"It’s not hard to imagine other countries using this law as an excuse to haul U.S. diplomats or U.S. service members or even U.S. companies into courts all around the world," Ernest said.

"The president believes that it’s important to look out for our country, to look out for our service members, to look out for these diplomats, and allowing this bill to come into law would increase the risk that it would face," he added.

Critics of the bill have also warned the legislation would jeopardize U.S. relations with Saudi Arabia, a long-time American ally.

A group of six Persian Gulf states led by Saudi Arabia denounced the legislation Monday.

Abdullatif al-Zayani, who heads the Gulf Cooperation Council, said in a statement that the bill stands "contrary to the foundations and principles of relations between states and the principle of sovereign immunity enjoyed by states."

Current U.S. law only allows victims to sue a country that is officially designated as a state sponsor of terrorism. The legislation would strike that prerequisite and allow citizens to pursue legal action against any nation suspected of terrorism.

Republican and Democratic lawmakers along with a number of 9/11 families have implicated Saudi Arabia in the Sept. 11 attacks given that 15 of the 19 terrorists who participated were Saudi.

The Saudi government has denied involvement in the attacks.