Some critics accuse President Joe Biden of failing a crucial test of leadership. The White House says its aim is to stop similar crimes from occurring.
The White House is holding firm on its decision not to punish Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman over the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, even as some critics accuse President Joe Biden of failing a crucial test of leadership. « Our national security team believes that going after the network responsible for these actions is the best way to prevent a crime like this from ever happening again, » White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters Monday. « That is our objective, » Psaki said, pointing out that the Biden administration has levied sanctions and restrictions against a slew of Saudi figures. But so far, the White House is not going after one prominent figure involved in Khashoggi’s murder: the crown prince himself. The 35-year-old Saudi leader approved the October 2018 operation to kill the Washington Post columnist Khashoggi, according to a U.S. intelligence report released Friday. That report, which had previously been classified, matched the conclusions of other investigations into Khashoggi’s death and sparked a new wave of outrage against bin Salman. Shortly after the report was made public, Secretary of State Antony Blinken imposed visa restrictions on 76 Saudi individuals « believed to have been engaged in threatening dissidents overseas, including but not limited to the Khashoggi killing. » The Treasury Department on Friday imposed sanctions on the crown prince’s security detail and other Saudi figures.
