Two top Republican senators said they’ve seen enough evidence to conclude that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was behind the killing of journalist Jamal…
Two top Republican senators said they’ve seen enough evidence to conclude that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was behind the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, but one GOP lawmaker said he’s still looking for a “smoking gun.”
“If you know anything about Saudi Arabia, anything about MBS, the fact that he didn’t know about it is impossible for me to believe. If he is going to be the face and the voice of Saudi Arabia going forward, I think the kingdom will have a hard time on the world stage,” Sen. Lindsey Graham said on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” referring to the ruling royal by his initials.
“He’s irrational, he’s unhinged, and I think he’s done a lot of damage to the relationship between the United States and Saudi Arabia, and I have no intention of working with him ever again,” Graham said. “He has stepped all over our values, he’s put us in a box.”
Sen. Rand Paul said the evidence is “overwhelming ” that the prince ordered the killing of Khashoggi, whose writings for the Washington Post were often sharply critical of the ruling royal, inside the Saudi consulate in Turkey last month.
“I think the evidence is overwhelming that the crown prince was involved. I don’t think we can sweep this under the rug,” Paul of Kentucky said on CBS’ “Face the Nation.”
But Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) said he was among a number of lawyers who got a confidential briefing last week and insisted a “smoking gun” would go a long way in warranting US actions against the kingdom.
“I think a smoking gun would certainly help, if you actually did have that specific thing that is unlikely to be out there or unlikely to be found, where someone gave a specific direction and you know that happened,” Blunt said, adding that “it’s hard to imagine something like this could happen without the crown prince knowing.”
The US has imposed sanctions against 17 Saudi officials connected to Khashoggi’s killing Oct. 2 at the Saudi consulate in Istanbu l.
Blunt said “it won’t hurt to wait a few days” until a government report about the murder is released on Monday or Tuesday.
Graham said he is in favor of stricter penalties against the kingdom, and Paul said he would support ending arms sales to the country.
News reports said the US intelligence community has concluded that the crown prince ordered Khashoggi’s death, but the State Department on Saturday released a statement saying those reports are “inaccurate.”
