Petrodollars just don’t buy what they used to on Capitol Hill.
The U.S. Senate on Tuesday unanimously passed the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act, defying a five-week lobbying campaign by the White House and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The bill clarifies that the Anti-Terrorism Act covers the aiding and abetting of terrorism, and that a sovereign may be liable for a tort committed outside the U.S. If passed into law, it would clear the way for a civil litigation filed in 2002 by 9/11 families, in tandem with World Trade Center insurers, seeking to hold the kingdom and its charities liable for supporting al-Qaida and aiding the hijackers through tortious acts both inside and outside the U.S. After a long and twisting history, In re Terrorist Attacks on Sept.11, 2001 was dismissed last year pending an active appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.
