The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has been engaged in a months-long lobbying battle on Capitol Hill ever since the passage of the “Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act,” which famously survived a September veto from President Obama.

That bipartisan bill, also known as S.2040, was introduced in May by Senators Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and John Cornyn (R-TX). It amends the federal judicial code to allow U.S. citizens the ability to sue foreign governments in civil court when their family members are the victims of terrorism.

A majority of the 19 hijackers involved in the 9/11 attacks — 15 of them — were Saudi citizens. A 28-page declassified 9/11 report released in July by the House of Representatives Intelligence Committee (which was originally redacted from the original 9/11 Commission Report released in 2004) suggested possible ties between some of the 9/11 hijackers and Saudi officials.

JASTA passed both chambers of Congress on September 9, but was vetoed later that month by Obama, who, in a three-page letter to Congress regarding his decision, said the bill “undermines core U.S. interests,” and “would neither protect Americans from terrorist attacks nor improve the effectiveness of our response to such attacks.”

President-elect Donald Trump in September expressed his support of JASTA and called Obama’s veto of the bill “shameful.” Congress overwhelmingly voted to override the President’s decision, marking the first veto override of Obama’s presidency.

Saudi Arabia goes on lobbying splurge

Bracing for JASTA’s Congressional showdown, the Saudi Royal Court in September hired Squire Patton Boggs in a $100,000-per-month pact to advise the country on “legal and strategic policy advice and advocacy on foreign and related issues in the U.S. government,” according to Foreign Agents Registration Act documents filed in September.

The same month, the Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia hired WPP lobbying giant Glover Park Group to provide communications and government relations support on matters related to “general foreign policy,” as well as “legislative, public policy and media-related activities of interest,” according to FARA documents.

JASTA’s veto survival has sent Saudi Arabia into a lobbying frenzy. In October, Saudi Arabia hired law firm King & Spalding to provide advocacy and legal services related to JASTA’s passage to Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Commerce and Investment.

Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia’s national oil and natural gas company, The Saudi Arabian Oil Company, also hired public affairs powerhouse Podesta Group at $30,000 for a month-long campaign to serve as a third party-contractor through international law firm White & Case LLP, who had inked an earlier pact with Saudi Arabia.

The country in November similarly hired consulting and lobbying firm The McKeon Group to work as a subcontractor under Glover Park Group and provide communications and government relations counsel, as well as undertake “special advocacy assignments,” which may include communication with U.S. government officials, according to FARA documents filed in October.

Beltway political tabloid The Hill in November reported that Saudi Arabia has now employed more than a dozen lobbying firms in its bid to battle JASTA, also signing pacts with BGR Group, Hogan Lovells and Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck.

Sudan signs White & Case

In addition to its work for Saudi Arabia, Washington, D.C.-based White & Case in November also signed a $250,000 pact to represent the government of Sudan.

Sudan

According to FARA documents, White & Case will provide legal services to the violence-torn nation “in connection with several litigation matters pending before federal courts.” Those litigation matters refer to the terrorist bombing of the USS Cole in Yemen in October 2000. al-Qaeda claimed responsibility for that attack, which killed 17 US sailors and injured nearly 40 more.

In 2010, injured sailors and victims’ families filed a federal lawsuit against Sudan, claiming that country provided funding, training and support to terrorists in their execution of the bombing.

The US District Court held Sudan liable for the attack, and issued a judgment awarding $315 million in compensatory and punitive damages. The Sudanese government appealed the decision in 2014, but in September 2015, the 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals in New York denied the appeal and ordered the Sudanese bank to turn over that country’s assets to cover the judgment.

In September of this year, the 2nd U.S. Court of Appeals refused requests from the U.S. and Sudanese government to reconsider its 2015 ruling.

Jordanian Embassy hires Hogan Lovells

International law firm Hogan Lovells has been hired by the Jordanian embassy in Washington, D.C., to provide counsel regarding ongoing discussions with U.S. government officials related to the court case of Courtney Linde et al, v. Arab Bank, PLC.

Jordan

In that landmark case, initially filed in 2004 in New York federal court, more than 500 U.S. citizens sued the Arab Bank, Jordan’s largest lender and one of the largest financial institutions in the Middle East, under civil liability provisions pursuant to the AntiTerrorism Act. The suit alleged that Arab Bank facilitated terrorist attacks committed in Israel between 2001 to 2004 by maintaining accounts for individuals and organizations that supported terrorist organizations such as Hamas. In September 2014, Arab Bank was found liable for financing terrorism relating to 24 different terrorist acts, accounting for the first terror-related judgment against a major bank in U.S. history.

Arab Bank in April 2015 struck a settlement deal with plaintiffs — some estimating as high as $1 billion — but later said it would appeal the ’14 liability verdict, as the bank claims it did not knowingly offer financial services or assistance to Hamas. That rehearing is currently pending in the Second Circuit.