Advertisement

Families of 9/11 victims can sue Saudi Arabia, US rules

New Yorkers look on after two planes hit the World Trade Centre in 2001.

New Yorkers look on after two planes hit the World Trade Centre in 2001. Photo: Getty

United States Congress has overruled President Barack Obama in a decision to allow the families of 9/11 victims to sue the Saudi Arabian government for damages.

Mr Obama has hit out at congress, accusing it of being too weak to “vote against 9/11 families” and of playing politics.

In a landmark decision, both houses voted to ignore the Mr Obama’s veto power for the first time in his presidency.

In a pleading letter, Mr Obama had warned congress of the potentially disastrous results of the bill, particularly for US “foreign affairs and intelligence communities”.

A large part of Mr Obama’s opposition to the bill was the possibility US legal action overseas could trigger other countries to come after US military and intelligence figures – something the United Nations indicated would be likely.

Mr Obama chastised congress for not doing "what's hard". Photo: Getty

Mr Obama chastised congress for not doing “what’s hard”. Photo: Getty

Saudi Arabia had previously threatened that if the US passed the bill, it would be forced to sell of hundreds of billions of dollars in US assets, lest they be seized by US courts after a hearing.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest told media the move was “the single most embarrassing thing that the US Senate has done, possibly since 1983”.

In that year, the Senate voted 95-0 to override President Ronald Reagan’s veto of a land bill to give a few acres to six retired couples who paid for it, but later learned that it was still government property because of a surveying error.

In an interview, Mr Obama told CNN congress had submitted to a “political vote” instead of doing “what’s hard”.

The families of the 2996 victims have considerable political pull in the US.

Mr Obama also claimed that some politicians had voted without fully understanding the potential repercussions.

“It’s a dangerous precedent,” he said.

The president was crushed in both house’s votes, losing 97-1 in the Senate and 348-77 in the lower house.

Just one Senate vote was cast in support of Mr Obama’s veto: by Democrat Harry Reid of Nevada.

Stay informed, daily
A FREE subscription to The New Daily arrives every morning and evening.
The New Daily is a trusted source of national news and information and is provided free for all Australians. Read our editorial charter
Copyright © 2024 The New Daily.
All rights reserved.