Nation/World

Obama vetoes bill to let 9/11 families sue Saudi Arabia, but congressional override expected

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama vetoed legislation Friday that would allow families of victims of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks to sue the government of Saudi Arabia for any role in the plot, setting up an extraordinary confrontation with a Congress that unanimously backed the bill and has vowed to uphold it.

Obama's long-anticipated veto of the measure, known as the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act, is the 12th of his presidency. But unless those who oppose the bill can persuade lawmakers to drop their support by next week, it will lead to the first congressional override of a veto during Obama's presidency — a familiar experience for presidents in the waning months of their terms.

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. Not long before he did so, Hillary Clinton, the Democratic presidential nominee who had previously backed the measure, confirmed that if she were in the Oval Office, she would sign it.

The leaders of both chambers, Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and Speaker Paul D. Ryan of Wisconsin, have said they expect the override vote to be successful, which requires a two-thirds majority.

Still, pressure is building on Congress to reconsider the measure, whose passage underlined the lasting political clout of the 9/11 families that have long demanded it — and the diminishing standing of Saudi Arabia and its supporters in Washington.

Obama objects to the measure, arguing that it would threaten American national security interests by upending long-standing principles of international law that shield governments from lawsuits, potentially opening the United States to a raft of litigation in foreign countries.

But supporters note that those principles have several exceptions, and contend they are merely seeking to add another narrow one that would allow U.S. courts to hold foreign governments responsible if they assisted or funded a terrorist attack that killed Americans in the United States.

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Saudi officials have denied that the kingdom had any role in the Sept. 11 plot, and an independent commission that investigated the attacks found "no evidence" that the government or any senior official funded it. But the commission's narrow wording left open the possibility that less senior officials or parts of the Saudi government had played a role.

The Saudi government has deployed powerful lobbyists and public relations professionals to try to kill the measure by swaying lawmakers to change their positions and vote to sustain Obama's veto. In recent days, it has turned to national security leaders, Fortune 100 corporate executives and retired military personnel for backing.

In letters sent Thursday, Jeffrey R. Immelt, chief executive of General Electric, called on McConnell to reconsider the measure, saying it set a "dangerous precedent." The chairman of Dow Chemical, Andrew N. Liveris, made the same plea to Ryan using the same phrase.

"The unintended consequences of this legislation could bring about a chain reaction around the world, giving other countries license to target the U.S. military and enable foreign courts to bring suits against U.S. servicemen and women for actions taken in the line of duty," 19 retired senior military officers wrote in a letter to members of Congress.

But attorneys representing the 9/11 families in multibillion-dollar lawsuits against Saudi Arabia say that claim is erroneous because the bill makes an exception for acts of war.

White House officials were making the case to lawmakers that they should sustain the president's veto.

"We continue to make a forceful case to members of Congress that overriding the president's veto means that this country will start pursuing a less forceful approach in dealing with state sponsors of terrorism and potentially opens up U.S. service members, and diplomats and even companies to spurious lawsuits in kangaroo courts around the world," Josh Earnest, the White House press secretary, said before Obama vetoed the measure. He acknowledged that the stance was "politically inconvenient," given the strong sympathy that exists for the families of the victims.

Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., called Obama's action "disappointing," and said it would be "swiftly and soundly overturned in Congress."

"If the Saudis did nothing wrong, they should not fear this legislation," Schumer said. "If they were culpable in 9/11, they should be held accountable."

The victims' families have been blanketing Capitol Hill to try to shore up support for the measure. Busloads of victims' relatives arrived in Washington this week to protest outside the White House and to visit lawmakers to urge them to remain steadfast in backing the bill.

Four widows made a last plea to the president Friday, hours before his veto, imploring him in a statement to reconsider and make "the right choice — one that bends toward justice for the murder of 3,000 innocent souls on Sept. 11th, 2001."

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