Congress overrides Obama veto, allowing 9/11 victims' families to sue Saudi Arabia

WASHINGTON, U.S. - Saudi Arabia now stands exposed to possible legal action by families of 9/11 terror attack victims, after the U.S. Congress on Wednesday overwhelmingly rejected President Barack Obama's veto of legislation.

In the first veto override of his eight-year-old presidency, the Senate voted 97-1 and the House of Representatives 338-74, implying the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism (JASTA) will become law.

The bill effectively amends a 1976 law that guards other countries from American lawsuits, allowing victims' families the right to sue any member of the Saudi government suspected of playing a role in the ghastly attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people.

"Overriding a presidential veto is something we don’t take lightly, but it was important in this case that the families of the victims of 9/11 be allowed to pursue justice, even if that pursuit causes some diplomatic discomforts," Senator Charles Schumer said in a statement.

Schumer, the third-ranking Democrat in the Senate, represents New York, the site of the World Trade Center and home to many of those killed, survivors and families of victims.

“This bill is near and dear to my heart as a New Yorker, because it would allow the victims of 9/11 to pursue some small measure of justice, finally giving them a legal avenue to pursue foreign sponsors of the terrorist attack that took from them the lives of their loved ones,” he added.

The White House has slammed the Senate's vote.

"This is the single most embarrassing thing this United States Senate has done possibly since 1983," spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters.

Obama, in a letter to the Congress before the vote, had said the law “could be devastating to the Department of Defence and its service members... and there is no doubt that the consequences could be equally significant for our foreign affairs and intelligence communities.”

Saudi Arabia, a long-standing ally of the U.S., had already warned the Obama administration that the law could force the Arab nation to liquidate billions of dollars’ worth of American assets to avoid them from being seized in court settlements.

The majority of the 19 hijackers involved in the attacks are believed to have been Saudi nationals, but the oil-rich kingdom has time and again denied any role in the act.

CIA Director John Brennan, in a statement said, "The downside (of the bill becoming law) is potentially huge.”

Political analysts feel the law could also expose the U.S. to lawsuits abroad, and possibly bring about complications for its armed forces.