Severe punishment of Saudi Arabia a bipartisan position

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 severe 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,” Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., in an appearance on CNN’s State of the Union 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 the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.

“Sanctions should be put in place for anybody who has had anything to do with it,” the Tennessee Republican told CNN’s Jake Tapper.

During an appearance on NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday, Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill., said the Saudi ambassador should be formally expelled from the United States if an investigation reveals the crown prince’s involvement. The suggestion echoed a similar call from Rep. Mike Coffman, R-Colo., a day earlier.

Also appearing on “Meet the Press,” North Carolina Republican 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, R-S.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 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.”

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.

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 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.”