Barack Obama just experienced the first major smack down of his Presidential career – his veto was overriden by Congress. Obama has, for a long time, been a proponent of not allowing the victims of 9/11 families to sue countries involved with the horrific attacks that killed nearly 3,000 Americans 15 years ago.
Namely, Saudi Arabia, a country that harbors terrorists but is fond of Obama because of his willingness to kowtow to dangerous regimes for political gain.
That all changed today as Congress wrote the bill into law, overriding the President’s authority. According to Slate,
The House and Senate voted Wednesday to override President Obama’s veto of legislation allowing families of those killed in the 9/11 terrorist attacks to sue Saudi Arabia. The controversial bill—which Obama and legal experts warned could have serious unintended repercussions for the United States—will now become law.
The congressional override was the first of Obama’s time in office. The House voted 348–77 in favor, with only 18 Republicans and 59 Democrats siding with the president. The Senate vote was 97–1, with Harry Reid all by his lonesome in the upper chamber.
The bill—the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act, or JASTA—gives the victims’ families the right to sue the Saudi government in U.S. court for any role it may have played in the 2001 attacks, which were carried out primarily by 19 al-Qaida hijackers, 15 of whom were Saudi nationals. Previous attempts by the American families to sue Saudi Arabia were derailed by a law that severely limited U.S. courts’ ability to hear cases against foreign governments. With JASTA passed, now foreign governments can be held liable for aiding terrorist groups, even if that aid doesn’t occur on American soil.
This might have been late int he game, but it’s clear that America has stood up to Obama’s horrible rule and said ‘no more.’ Well, everyone except Harry Reid, apparently.
(Source: Slate)