PRESS RELEASE
Clock Is Ticking on JASTA fight
Sept. 20, 2016 (EIRNS)—150 activists rallied today on the Senate side of the Capitol Building to demand that the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act (JASTA) be passed into law in defiance of Obama’s threatened veto. This was after a similar rally in front of the White House. It was learned during that rally that Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell announced that the Senate would not adjourn until any veto of JASTA were overridden.
The press conference addressed by Terry Strada, a leader of the families of victims of the 9/11 attack, and Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) made the point that there is no argument against the passage of the JASTA bill. Strada made the point that the bill was vetted for six years and passed both the Senate and the House overwhelmingly. Blumenthal argued concretely that JASTA covered a loophole in what is called sovereign immunity. In the question-and-answer period, Blumenthal further elaborated the argument: There is no giving-in on Justice for the citizens who were murdered on 9/11.
Strada pointed out that if the Saudis did nothing, they should be happy to exonerate themselves in court. Yet it was the simple statement of Caitlyn Strada, the 19-year-old daughter of Terry who was four at the time of the attack that took her father, drove the point home. She stated that she recalls her father always told her “Do the right thing.” For her that statement originally meant be good to her brother and younger sister. But now, when she is 19, it means that Justice must be served.
