THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
The Honorable Harry Reid
Minority Leader
United States Senate
Washington, D.C. 20510
Dear Senator Reid;
Thank you for speaking with me about the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act,
or JASTA. As I noted in my message vetoing the bill and reiterated on our call yesterday,
I strongly believe that enacting JASTA into law would be detrimental to U.S. national interests.
I am firmly committed to assisting the families of the victims of the terrorist attacks of
September 11, 2001 (9/11) in their pursuit ofjustice. Over the last eight years, my
Administration has continued and expanded upon the U.S. Government's unprecedented
response to the 9/11 attacks. We have relentlessly pursued al-Qa'ida, killed Osama bin Laden,
supported and signed legislation that provides treatment for first responders and other survivors,
and declassified additional information on the attacks so the families of 9/11 victims can better
understand the information investigators gathered following that dark day.
Enacting JASTA into law, however, would neither protect Americans from terrorist
attacks nor improve the effectiveness of our response to such attacks. Doing so would instead
threaten to erode sovereign immunity principles that protect the United States, including our U.S.
Armed Forces and other officials, overseas. This is why I vetoed the bill and why I believe you
should vote to sustain that veto.
In general, JASTA would allow lawsuits in U.S. Federal Courts against foreign countries
for actions taken abroad that are alleged to have contributed to acts of terrorism in the United
States, notwithstanding long-standing principles of sovereign immunity. We already have ways
of addressing state-sponsored terrorism. In fact, under existing law, lawsuits may be brought for
actions taken abroad that contribute to acts of terrorism only against countries that have been