Congress takes a hard line on Saudis
Bipartisan agreement on blame, calls for harsh punishment
WASHINGTON — Saudi Arabia’s belated explanation for the death of journalist Jamal Khashoggi drew deep skepticism Sunday from congressional lawmakers and mounting bipartisan calls for the kingdom — and possibly Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman personally — to face severe repercussions.
Senior Republicans and Democrats proposed a range of punishments, including sanctions on the longtime U.S ally, the expulsion of the Saudi ambassador and the cutting of arms sales.
“It’s my thinking that MBS was involved in this, that he directed this and that this person was purposefully murdered,” said Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., in an appearance on CNN’s State of the Union on Sunday, referring to the crown prince.
Corker — who chairs the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee — called for a “collective response” by the United States, the United Kingdom, France and Germany if an investigation reveals the crown prince was behind Khashoggi’s killing inside
Saudi consulate in Istanbul.
“Sanctions should be put in place for anybody who has had anything to do with it,” Corker told CNN’s Jake Tapper.
During an appearance on NBC’s “Meet the Press” Sunday, Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said the Saudi ambassador should be formally expelled from the United States.
“We ought to formally expel the Saudi ambassador from the United States until there is a completion of a third-party investigation into the kidnap, murder and God-knows-what-followed that occurred in Istanbul,” he said, adding, “The crown prince has his fingerprints all over this.”
Also appearing on “Meet the Press,” Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., called a strong response to the Saudi government.
“We’ve got to get to the bottom of this,” Tillis said. “In Saudi Arabia, you don’t do something of this magnitude without having clearance from the top. We need to find out who that is and hold them accountable.”
Sen. Lindsey Graham, RS.C., said that he believes the crown prince is ultimately responsible and should pay a price.
“You’ll never convince me that he didn’t do this,” Graham said on Fox News Channel’s “Sunday Morning ing Futures”
“Saudi Arabia is an ally, but this behavior is outside the norm to the point that the people involved need to be removed, in my view,” Graham added. “Saudi Arabia is a country. MBS is a person, and I am willing to separate the two.”
So far, President Donald Trump has continued to voice support for the crown prince, even as he has backed away from describthe Saudi Arabia’s story as credible.
“Obviously there’s been deception and there’s been lies,” Trump said in an interview Saturday with The Washington Post when pressed on the many discrepancies in the changing accounts from the Saudis. “Their stories are all over the place.”
He did not call for the ouster of Mohammed and instead praised his leadership, calling the prince “a strong person, he has very good control.”
On Sunday, Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., said he was certain that Mohammed was responsible for Khashoggi’s disappearance and death, reasoning that “there’s no way 15 people are sent from Saudi Arabia to Turkey to kill a dissident without the approval of the crown prince.”
“It stretches credulity to think that the crown prince wasn’t involved in this,” Paul said, calling for an end to American relations with the crown prince and for his replacement.
In an interview Sunday with Fox News Channel’s Bret Baier, Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said that an investigation is underway to determine how Khashoggi was killed and what happened to his body. He pushed back against Paul and others who have said they are certain the crown prince was involved, arguing that it is “very surprising” that lawmakers who are “6,000 miles away” could make such declarations about what happened.
“There is the presumption of innocence until proven guilty,” al-Jubeir said, deploying an argument that Trump himself has made.
Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, called the moment “a relationship-altering event for the U.S. and Saudi Arabia.”
“We ought to suspend military sales, we ought to suspend certain security assistance, and we ought to impose sanctions on any of those that were directly involved in this murder,” Schiff said said on ABC’s “This Week” “This really ought to be something that causes us to do a re-examination of our relationship with Saudi Arabia.”
“It’s my thinking that MBS was involved, and that this person was purposefully murdered.”
—Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn.
“We ought to formally expel the Saudi ambassador from the United States.”
—Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill.
“It stretches credulity to think that the crown prince wasn’t involved in this.”
—Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky.