9/11 Victims Can Now Sue Saudi Arabia

WASHINGTON, DC — A bill that allows the families of victims of the 9/11 attacks to sue the country of Saudi Arabia for any role it may have played in the terrorist plot went into law Wednesday, after both the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives voted to override President Obama's veto of the bill the week prior.

The Senate voted 97-1, and the House of Representatives voted 348-77, to override the veto.

This marks the first time during Obama's two terms in the White House that one of his presidential vetoes has been overridden.

The Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act (JASTA), as it's called, will permit 9/11 victims' families to sue Saudi Arabia for allegedly backing the terrorists who hijacked four passenger planes on Sept. 11, 2001, and used them to carry out the deadliest attacks ever on U.S. soil.

JASTA has been met with strong objection by Saudi Arabia, a key U.S. ally in the Middle East. Fifteen of the 19 hijackers from 9/11 were Saudi nationals.

In vetoing JASTA, the president said it would be "detrimental" to U.S. interests abroad.

U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer, representing New York City, said Wednesday after the Senate vote: "Overriding a presidential veto is something we don’t take lightly, but it was important in this case that the families of the victims of 9/11 be allowed to pursue justice, even if that pursuit causes some diplomatic discomforts. I hope the House will quickly follow suit so that the families can have the day in court they deserve.”

Here's how JASTA works. Currently, under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act, if there is any indication that a foreign government played a role in a terrorist attack on U.S. soil, the U.S. has the option to designate the country a state sponsor of terrorism — thus stripping it of its sovereign immunity before U.S. courts. JASTA expands that definition, allowing U.S. courts to also hold foreign governments responsible for, verbatim, "a tortious act or acts of the foreign state, or of any official, employee, or agent of that foreign state while acting within the scope of his or her office, employment, or agency, regardless where the tortious act or acts of the foreign state occurred."

The Obama administration has warned that the law could could create complications with the U.S.'s closest allies and could allow other countries to act reciprocally against the U.S.

But JASTA's supporters have dismissed Obama's argument as "unconvincing and unsupportable."

After the president's veto, a coalition consisting of thousands of family members of 9/11 victims and survivors said in a statement: "No matter how much the Saudi lobbying and propaganda machine may argue otherwise, JASTA is a narrowly drawn statute that restores longstanding legal principles that have enjoyed bipartisan support for decades. It will deter terrorism and hold accountable those nations that support and fund it."

This is a developing story. Refresh the page for updates.

Lead image via Shutterstock

With additional reporting by Feroze Dhanoa, Marc Torrence and Allen McDuffee