Measure to punish Saudis for Khashoggi murder advances
WASHINGTON — Sens. Christopher Coons, D-Del., and Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., introduced bipartisan legislation Wednesday seeking to punish the Saudi government for the October murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi.
Their bill, similar to one passed overwhelmingly in the House earlier this month, would require the director of national intelligence to identify which Saudi officials were involved in killing Khashoggi and require the Trump administration to impose visa sanctions on those individuals and deny them entry into the United States.
“This bill is another important message to the Saudis that the murder of Jamal Khashoggi will not go unpunished,” Graham said in a statement. “If you played a role in the murder, you have no business traveling to the United States. This bill accomplishes that goal.”
This new legislation comes days after the Senate failed to override President Donald Trump’s vetoes of three bills blocking arms deals benefiting Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, which lawmakers sought as a way to hold Saudi leaders accountable for the slaying of Khashoggi and for the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Yemen.
The president has resisted calls from Congress to punish Saudi leaders, putting Republicans in a difficult position as they determine how hard to push for sanctions on Saudi officials in defiance of Trump.
Last week, Senate Foreign Relations Chairman James Risch, RS.C., offered a watered down bill that would restrict U.S. visas for some members of the Saudi kingdom but not Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Over Risch’s objections, committee members advanced a stricter sanctions bill to impose a moratorium on all nondefensive arms transfers to Saudi Arabia and to impose sanctions on Saudi leaders involved in Khashoggi’s death, including the crown prince.
Risch has said there’s no point pushing a bill that is going to be vetoed by the president.
“We cannot let our foreign policy be dictated solely by narrow economic and security concerns. Our values are equally if not more important than our interests,” Coons said in a statement. “We have a long history with Saudi Arabia but the President has failed to hold the country’s senior leadership to account for the horrendous murder of Jamal Khashoggi. This legislation will ensure the United States doesn’t turn a blind eye to egregious violations of human rights.”