GOP big rips Saudis over missing writer
Sen. Lindsey Graham and other Republicans broke with President Trump on Tuesday, calling Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman a “wrecking ball” and accusing him of being behind the disappearance and suspected killing of writer Jamal Khashoggi.
“This guy has got to go. Saudi Arabia, if you're listening, there are a lot of good people you can choose, but MBS has tainted your country and tainted himself,” Graham said during an appearance on Fox News.
He went on to say he believes the prince had Khashoggi “murdered.”
“I can never do business with Saudi Arabia again until we get this behind us,” Graham added. “That means I'm not going back to Saudi Arabia as long as this guy is in charge.”
The South Carolina Republican's condemnation of the de facto Saudi leader came hours after Secretary of State Pompeo met with the prince, and his father, King Salman, to discuss Khashoggi's mysterious disappearance.
A Washington Post columnist and outspoken critic of the royal family, Khashoggi entered the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2 and has not been seen since.
Trump defended the crown prince, blaming the press for rushing to judgment before all the facts are in.
“I think we have to find out what happened first,” he said. “Here we go again with, you know, you're guilty until proven innocent. I don't like that. We just went through that with Justice (Brett) Kavanaugh and he was innocent all the way as far as I'm concerned.”
Police who searched the consulate found evidence Khashoggi was killed there, a high-level Turkish official said Tuesday. Authorities were preparing to search the consul's residence nearby after the diplomat left the country.
An official close to the investigation confirmed to CNN that investigators believe Khashoggi's body was cut into pieces after he was killed inside the Saudi government office.
“My hope is that we can reach conclusions that will give us a reasonable opinion as soon as possible," Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said.
Saudi officials have called the allegations “baseless,” but several reports suggest they may soon acknowledge Khashoggi's death.
Pompeo smiled and shook hands during the Riyadh sitdown, but did not address reporters.
Trump, who has fiercely defended the Saudis and speculated that “rogue killers” could be to blame for the journalist's death, dispatched Pompeo amid rising international tensions — and to ensure an arms deal isn't jeopardized.
Washington Post publisher Fred Ryan said Tuesday that Saudi Arabia “owes the Khashoggi family and the world a full and honest explanation of everything that happened to him.”
The United Nations also urged both Saudi Arabia and Turkey to “reveal everything they know about the disappearance and possible extrajudicial killing” of Khashoggi.