THE WHITE HOUSE

WASHINGTON

The Honorable Harry ReidMinority 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 ofSeptember 11, 2001 (9/11) in their pursuit of justice. Over the last eight years, myAdministration has continued and expanded upon the U.S. Government's unprecedentedresponse 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 terroristattacks nor improve the effectiveness of our response to such attacks. Doing so would insteadthreaten 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 youshould vote to sustain that veto.

In general, JASTA would allow lawsuits in U.S. Federal Courts against foreign countriesfor actions taken abroad that are alleged to have contributed to acts of terrorism in the UnitedStates, notwithstanding long-standing principles of sovereign immunity. We already have waysof addressing state-sponsored terrorism. In fact, under existing law, lawsuits may be brought foractions taken abroad that contribute to acts of terrorism only against countries that have been