Ahead of the New York presidential primary, both Democratic candidates are breaking with the Obama administration to declare their support for a bill that would allow Americans to sue the government of Saudi Arabia for any role it may have played in the 9/11 terror attacks.
Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton both issued statements Sunday night expressing their support for the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act, authored by Sens. John Cornyn (R-Texas) and Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and co-sponsored by 22 bipartisan lawmakers. The legislation would enable victims of 9/11 and other attacks on U.S. soil to sue sovereign nations that supply material or other support for such acts of violence.
Sanders also went a step further, urging the Obama administration to « declassify the 28-page conclusion of the 9/11 Commission Report on the potential sources of foreign support received by the hijackers. »
Though he has access to the pages, Sanders told « CBS This Morning » on Monday that he hasn’t yet read them—nor will he, until they are publicly released.
« The difficulty is, » he explained, « you see then, if you read them, then you’re gonna ask me a question, you’re gonna say, ‘You read them, what’s in them?’ And now I can tell you honestly I have not. »
When pressed on Monday by a NBC reporter whether she has read the pages, former Secretary of State Clinton said she wouldn’t comment.
Asked twice if she's read the 28 classified pages, HRC says: "I'm not commenting" https://t.co/neAYAB1xMU
— Monica Alba (@albamonica) April 18, 2016
The White House, meanwhile, signaled on Monday that President Barack Obama would veto the legislation should it come to his desk. « Given the long list of concerns I have expressed…it’s difficult to imagine a scenario in which the president would sign the bill as it’s currently drafted, » said press secretary Josh Earnest at a briefing.
The New York Times reported over the weekend that Saudi officials have « told the Obama administration and members of Congress that it will sell off hundreds of billions of dollars’ worth of American assets held by the kingdom » should Congress pass the bill.
What’s more, The Hill notes that « [t]he fierce debate over the legislation has bubbled up at a precarious time for Obama, who is set to land in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday to meet with King Salman. »