Saudi response is not credible, lawmakers say

WASHINGTON – More than two weeks after Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi went missing, Saudi Arabia has admitted he was killed inside its Turkey consulate.

But the regime’s explanation of what happened has been inconsistent, and members of Congress from both sides of the aisle have taken issue with that.

The regime had for weeks insisted it knew nothing of Khashoggi’s disappearance and repeatedly claimed the columnist must have gone missing after he left the diplomatic facility in Istanbul.

Reports continued to mount showing that a group of Saudi officials with close ties to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the country’s de facto ruler, visited the consulate and appeared to be connected to the torture, dismemberment and killing of Khashoggi, who was critical of the Saudi regime.

While Saudi officials admitted Friday that he’d been killed inside the consulate, they did not give an explanation for Khashoggi’s death or give the location of his body.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., said the explanation given by the Saudis that led to Khashoggi’s death “absolutely defies credibility.”

“The world deserves an explanation, and not from the Saudis,” he told CNN, adding that for too long they’d been “given a pass” for “killing innocent civilians.”

On Twitter, Blumenthal called for an international investigation to prevent the Saudis from “whitewashing” the probe.

One of the most vocal Republicans on this incident has been Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. After the Saudis issued the statement, explaining what happened, Graham wasn’t satisfied.

“To say that I am skeptical of the new Saudi narrative about Mr. Khashoggi is an understatement,” Graham said on Twitter.

He wrote that the shifting narrative was concerning and that it didn’t make sense that all this happened without bin Salman’s knowledge.

“It’s hard to find this latest ‘explanation’ as credible,” Graham wrote.

Graham had been a strong supporter of Saudi Arabia, but the Khashoggi case has turned him into a critic. He recently suggested the crown prince was “toxic” and should be replaced. Other lawmakers said the statement left more questions than answers as to what happened to Khashoggi.