Monday, June 01, 2009

Obama administration sides with Saudis on 9/11 suit

Relatives of 9/11 victims who filed a lawsuit seeking to pin blame on the Saudi royal family for financing attacks against the United States just acquired a significant new opponent: the Obama administration.

A Department of Justice brief (PDF link) filed with the Supreme Court on Friday argues that the Saudi royal family is party to a sovereign state and cannot be sued in American courts.

Fifteen of the 19 alleged 9/11 terrorists were from Saudi Arabia, according to the FBI. Former President George W. Bush waited six years to acknowledge this in public.

“Several lower courts have dismissed the lawsuit,” noted the Associated Press.

“Lawyers for the Saudi family said that they were heartened by the department’s brief and that it served to strengthen their hand before the court, which has not decided whether to hear the case,” reported The New York Times.
Read on.

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