A month after the New York Post published an exposé of a missing portion of the 9/11 Files known as the “28 Pages,” the Senate passed a bill Tuesday that would allow the families of September 11 victims to sue the Saudi Arabian government for their possible role in the 2001 attacks. The paper originally uncovered a pattern of stonewalling whenever anyone asked the FBI about Saudi Arabia’s connection to the hijackers.
Despite a White House veto threat and a threat from Saudi Arabia to pull billions of dollars from the U.S. economy if legislation goes through, the bill known as the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act, sponsored by Senators John Cornyn, R-Texas, and Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., was approved by voice vote and passed unanimously.
Cornyn says that if the bill is passed it will send the message that the U.S. “will combat terrorism with every tool we have available, and that the victims of terrorist attacks in our country should have every means at their disposal to seek justice.”
For years, families of the victims killed in New York, the Washington, D.C. metro area, and Pennsylvania, have been urging the Obama administration to release information that allegedly discusses Saudi involvement in the attacks.
The White House said the bill could potentially expose Americans living overseas to legal risks. Nevertheless, Senate Democrats firmly support the legislation even though it puts them at odds with the White House.
Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham originally blocked the bill from moving to the Senate floor until changes were made that made sure the legislation wouldn’t backfire. Republican Sen. John McCain warned that the bill could potentially alienate one of the U.S.’s biggest allies in the Middle East if passed.
The bill will now be taken up at the House of Representatives.
(Via CBS News)