President Barack Obama’s rejection of the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act was well-foreshadowed. | Getty Obama vetoes Saudi 9/11 bill

The White House vetoed legislation on Friday that would allow Saudi Arabia to be sued for any alleged role in the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks — setting up what is almost certain to be the first veto override of Barack Obama’s presidency.

Obama’s rejection of the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act was well-foreshadowed; White House officials have repeatedly said Obama has several objections to the measure, including concerns that U.S. officials would face retaliation in the courts by foreign governments.


In a three-page veto message outlining his objections, Obama again stressed those arguments and others made by his administration in recent days. Particularly problematic, in Obama’s view, was the possibility that courts could end up wading into terrorism issues best left to national security and foreign policy officials.

“This would invite consequential decisions to be made based upon incomplete information and risk having different courts reaching different conclusions about the culpability of individual foreign governments and their role in terrorist activities directed against the United States,” Obama said.

That, the president added, “was neither an effective nor a coordinated way for us to respond to indications that a foreign government might have been behind a terrorist attacks.”

Obama again reiterated the White House’s view that the 9/11 bill could lead to retaliation — which could cause “potentially seriously financial consequences for the United States,” he warned — while arguing that the 9/11 bill “threatens to create complications in our relationships with even our closest partners.”

“I have deep sympathy for the families of the victims of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, who have suffered grievously,” Obama said in the veto message. “I also have a deep appreciation of these families’ desire to pursue justice and am strongly committed to assisting them in their efforts.”

But he added that the legislation “would neither protect Americans form terrorist attacks nor improve the effectiveness of our response to such attacks.”

Those arguments have rung hollow for Congress, which passed the legislation unanimously through both chambers. The Senate passed the measure in May, and the House followed suit earlier this month on the eve of the 15th anniversary of the terrorist attacks.

The Senate will move first on a veto override because the legislation, written by Sens. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and John Cornyn (R-Texas), originated there. Unless there are objections, the override vote can be set up by unanimous consent.

Cornyn called not only the veto "disappointing," but also Obama's "refusal to listen to the families of the victims taken from us on Sept. 11." And Schumer called the veto a “disappointing decision” from Obama that will be “swiftly and soundly overturned in Congress.”

“If the Saudis did nothing wrong, they should not fear this legislation. If they were culpable in 9/11, they should be held accountable,” Schumer said after Obama officially vetoed the bill. “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.”

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said this week his chamber will vote to override the legislation before lawmakers leave Washington to campaign for reelection. McConnell spokesman David Popp reiterated that on Friday, saying the chamber will take it up “as soon as practicable in this work period.”

And a coalition of survivors of the 9/11 attacks, as well as the family members of the victims, released a statement saying they were “outraged and dismayed” at Obama’s veto.

“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,” the group, known as 9/11 Families and Survivors United for Justice Against Terrorism, said. “It will deter terrorism and hold accountable those nations that support and fund it.”

Key backers of the legislation expect Obama’s veto will be easily overridden, considering the unanimous show of support from Capitol Hill. Still, influential national security voices such as Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker of Tennessee, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) have expressed concerns about potential implications of the legislation – although those sentiments had gained little traction at the Capitol because the bill has such strong support.

On Friday, House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mac Thornberry (R-Texas) began circulating a "Dear Colleague" letter urging lawmakers to sustain Obama's veto, echoing many of the administration's objections against the 9/11 bill.

"My primary concern is that this bill increases the risk posed to American military and intelligence personnel, diplomats, and others serving our country around the world," Thornberry wrote in the letter circulated among Republican lawmakers. "Many of us have long resisted any attempt to subject U.S. military, intelligence, and diplomatic personnel to criminal or civil courts around the world. These individuals who are carrying out U.S. policy must be protected. Differences should be resolved between governments based on policies, not by individual litigants in the courts."

Top congressional leaders such as Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) have said they share concerns from the White House about JASTA, as it’s been known on Capitol Hill. But they also say a veto override is inevitable; Pelosi said Thursday that the White House has not reached out to her to enlist Pelosi’s help in swaying lawmakers to the administration’s side.

“I think that members think that the families should have their day in court, and I think the concerns that the President has expressed are very legitimate,” Pelosi said Thursday. “The families think that they've addressed many of those concerns in the legislation.”

The 9/11 bill was a rare point of agreement between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump -- both New Yorkers who each said they would sign the legislation if they were president.

The legislation amends the Foreign Sovereign Immunity Act to prevent countries involved in terrorist attacks on U.S. soil from invoking sovereign immunity, a legal principle that shields foreign nations from legal action.

JASTA has long been viewed as focusing on Saudi Arabia’s alleged role in the terrorist attacks. The so-called “28 pages,” part of a 2002 probe that was declassified in July, included some indications that appear to suggest links between a handful of Saudis in the United States and two of the 9/11 hijackers.



Nahal Toosi contributed to this report.