by Derrick Broze, Activist Post:
A group representing an estimated 6,500 families of 9/11 victims is calling on the Department of Justice to investigate a foreign influence campaign by Saudi Arabia which sought to convince veterans to fight against a recently passed law that allows for lawsuits against the Saudi kingdom in relation to the September 11, 2001 terror attacks. Yahoo! News reports that lawyers representing the 9/11 Families and Survivors United for Justice Against Terrorism are accusing Saudi operatives of deceiving hundreds of veterans into lobbying against the bill by warning them that they may be susceptible to lawsuits in foreign countries for their role in military conflicts.
“In service of this dangerous effort to influence Congress into passing legislative text promoted by a foreign power, the Kingdom and its foreign agents have targeted U.S. veterans nationwide” and “deceived them into serving as unwitting advocates for the Saudi government,” the families’ letter reads.
The group of over 300 veterans were flown to Washington D.C. and treated to meals and discussion about the controversial Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act (JASTA), a recently passed law that allows victims of terrorism to file lawsuits against foreign nations. Veterans were not notified that the financiers of their trip were representatives of the Saudi Kingdom. The 9/11 families have fought for years to sue the Saudi Kingdom to reveal more details about the role the nation played in the 2001 terror attacks. The Saudi government has opposed JASTA since its inception, at one point threatening to liquidate millions of dollars in U.S. assets.
The letter accuses the Saudi Kingdom of using more than 100 foreign agents to “build a state of the art and nationwide lobbying and propaganda apparatus” to affect the U.S. legislative process.”According to media reports and records filed with the Department of Justice, the Kingdom has been paying at least $1.3 million per month to registered foreign agents, the majority of whom are registered solely to work on the Kingdom’s campaign to undermine JASTA,” the letter reads. The families are now demanding that the DOJ “commence an immediate national security investigation” to determine if anyone violated the statute known as the Foreign Agents Registration Act, or FARA, which requires full disclosure of foreign sponsored lobbying activities.
via IFTTT