Legislation that would allow 9/11 families to sue the Saudi government became the first veto override President Obama has faced in his presidency.
The House voted Wednesday afternoon 348 to 77 to override the president’s veto. The Senate voted 97 to 1 to override earlier in the day.
The legislation was unanimous in Congress when it initially passed, but strong objections from the White House and Pentagon eventually revealed deep schisms within the Democratic Party and GOP as many members grappled with the choice between potentially changing the future of national sovereignty and defending victims of a horrific terrorist attack.
To lobby against the bill, the White House dispatched its top officials. Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD), the ranking member on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, told reporters Tuesday he had spent time with Secretary John Kerry discussing the bill. The Saudi government also hired its own force of lobbyists – some former members of Congress themselves– to campaign against the legislation.
But families of 9/11 victims also had a powerful presence on Capitol Hill. They publicly campaigned with senators and met with the bill’s sponsor Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX).
We cant have the “defendants” opening the possibility of “discovery” in this case…could prove pretty embarrassing!!!
So it goes both ways, right? Some family in Yemen can sue the USA because we killed somebody in a drone strike that missed the intended target?
This bill has all the classic symptoms of the rule of unintended consequences. This may come back to bite this country big time.
It might also do some good. The drone program is still a disorganized mess; perhaps the looming threat of lawsuits will force people to use more discretion.
Or pay attention to the war in Yemen which seemingly goes unnoticed in this country.
Or it could act as a catalyst for our own “truth and reconciliation” tribunal. I think there is still information or “discovery” concerning Saudi involvement or at least knowledge. If nothing else, it can at least make a number of members of the Bush administration a bit more uncomfortable.