Washington: President Barack Obama is poised to veto legislation exposing Saudi Arabia to court action over the 9/11 attacks, stepping in to defend legal precedent and an ally.
White House officials say Obama will reject the ‘Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act’ by a Friday veto deadline, after a little over a week of deliberation.
The administration is worried the bill — passed unanimously by Congress — would undermine state immunity, setting a dangerous legal precedent.
Obama’s aides tried and failed to have the legislation substantially revised, and now face the prospect of Republicans and Democrats joining forces to override the presidential veto, a relatively rare rebuke of White House power.
The White House is getting some backing from diplomatic allies who share concerns about the United States becoming a venue for citizens to sue governments.
In a diplomatic protest note obtained by AFP, the European Union warned that the rules would be “in conflict with fundamental principles of international law”.
“State immunity is a central pillar of the international legal order,” the “demarche” noted, adding that other countries could take “reciprocal action.”
In a letter to lawmakers, also seen by AFP, former secretary of defence William Cohen, former CIA boss Michael Morell and Stephen Hadley, George W. Bush’s national security adviser were among a group of high-profile security figures to warn that the legislation would hurt US interests.
“Our troops, our diplomats and all US government personnel working overseas could very well find themselves subject to lawsuits in other countries,” they said.
“Our national security interests, our capacity to fight terrorism and our leadership role in the world would be put in serious jeopardy.”
Behind the scenes, Riyadh has been lobbying furiously for the bill to be scrapped. A senior Saudi Prince reportedly threatened to pull billions of dollars out of US assets if it becomes law, but Saudi officials distance themselves from that claim.
The US-Saudi relationship had already been strained by Obama’s engagement with Riyadh’s foe Iran.
This would be the twelfth veto of Obama’s eight-year presidency and one of his most politically fraught.
Congressional insiders insist that they have the votes needed to override a veto, in what would be a significant blow for the White House in the final months of Obama’s presidency.
The White House is holding out vague hope that convoluted Congressional rules could delay the override until after the November 8 election, when the politics may be less toxic and minds may be changed.
Until then, Republicans will certainly use the veto to cast Obama as putting Riyadh before US terror victims.
The Republican nominee, Donald Trump has already tried to paint Obama and his would-be successor Hillary Clinton as weak on terrorism.
Trump has vowed to challenge Clinton in his home state of New York, where he lags by 17 points but where the 9/11 bill has become a major political issue and could have an impact on Congressional and state races.
Democrats have been quick to insulate themselves from criticism by backing the bill, not least cosponsor New York Democratic senator Chuck Schumer.
Meanwhile, Clinton has voiced support for Congressional efforts “to secure the ability of 9/11 families and other victims of terror to hold accountable those responsible”, according to Jesse Lehrich, a campaign spokesman.
