U.S. SENATORS BRIEFED ON KHASHOGGI DEATH

If Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was put on trial for the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, a jury would find him guilty in “about 30 minutes,” Bob Corker, U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman, said after a briefing by the CIA director.

Senators leaving a briefing by Gina Haspel, the director, said they were even more convinced that the prince was involved in the death.

South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham said there was “zero chance” the crown prince wasn’t involved in Khashoggi’s death. “There’s not a smoking gun, there’s a smoking saw,” Graham said, in an apparent reference to reports that the columnist was beheaded, dismembered and his fingers were severed.

Tuesday’s briefing came as the Senate weighs punishing the longtime Middle East ally over the killing. President Donald Trump has equivocated over who is to blame. Frustrated with the administration’s response, senators voted last week to move forward on a resolution curtailing U.S. backing for the Saudi-led war in Yemen.