CIA Director Gina Haspel testified before the Senate about the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, and members of the council called for condemnation of Saudi Arabia after they became more convinced of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's involvement in the crime.
Behind closed doors, Haspel spoke to leaders of several Senate committees after missing a statement by the administration of President Donald Trump last week on Saudi policies that caused frustration and anger at the White House among lawmakers.
After Haspel's testimony, al-Jazeera correspondent Wazee Waqfi said senators were becoming more aggressive in attacking Saudi Arabia and more convinced of Mohammed bin Salman's involvement in the killing of Khashoggi.
Republican Senator Lindsey Graham said Saudi Arabia was a strategic ally, but maintaining the relationship with it should not be at any price. He said he could not support arms deals to Saudi Arabia as long as Mohammed bin Salman was in power.
Graham said the Saudi crown prince was not a reliable ally of the United States, adding that Saudi Arabia should be distinguished as a strategic ally of the United States and Mohammed bin Salman.
The Republican senator said he would present a draft resolution in Congress that would see the Saudi crown prince responsible for Khashoggi's death, vowing to enforce the Maginetsky law and impose sanctions on Saudi Arabia over the Khashoggi case.
| Graham Surrounded by Journalists in Congress (French) |
In an article in the Wall Street Journal, Graham said that Saudi policies in the region make the crown prince a source of instability in the region, accusing the Saudi regime of scorning international standards by killing Khashoggi and the "reckless" military campaign in Yemen, as well as the siege of Qatar and the detention of Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri Earlier.
The Republican senator warned that leaving the Saudi government unchecked would be in the interest of Iran through a wedge between his country and its allies in the region, warning that failure to rebuke bin Salman would give the tyrants a green light to liquidate their opponents, stressing the need to grant guarantees to countries such as Jordan and Lebanon that Washington would not bow down. Bin Salman's whims.
Angry remarks
For his part, Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell described the lack of response to Khashoggi's killing as inappropriate and said ignoring the case was unacceptable.
"Creating a complete rift in relations with Saudi Arabia is not in our long-term interest," McConnell said, "We are looking for an appropriate response that does not completely spoil the relationship ... They are very important allies against the Iranians."
Republican Senator John F. Kennedy also expressed dissatisfaction with Hubble's presentation to a limited elite of Congressional leaders. In an interview with Fox News, he expressed his belief that the Saudi crown prince had given the order to kill Khashoggi and cut his body, calling for the harsher punishment for Saudi Arabia.
| Korker talks to reporters after the closed session and says that Bin Salman is the one who supervised the killing of Khashoggi (French) |
Senator Korker confirmed that Mohammed bin Salman had overseen Khashoggi's murder and that if he had appeared before a jury convicted in 30 minutes, he said, "This is unacceptable to us."
He added that the message sent by the Trump administration to the Crown Prince so far would allow him to continue his current behavior, calling on the administration to strongly condemn the killing of Khashoggi or else Congress will have to act.
"I am more convinced of the need to adopt a strong American response to both the Yemen war and Khashoggi's killing," said Rep. Bob Menendez, a senior Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee.
Before the meeting, Republican Senator Rand Paul said the CIA report on Khashoggi's death should be declassified because its details were published in the media. Foreign Secretary Mike Pompeo and Defense Secretary James Matisse also asked whether they opposed the report.
Paul also asked CIA director to reveal the link between the Saudi crown prince and Khashoggi's murderer and said it was wrong for the CIA to conclude that the Saudi crown prince was involved in Khashoggi's killing and was reluctant to disclose it.
The Republican senator expressed his deep displeasure at the limited use of Hubble by a few members of the council, accusing him of calling the deep state to prevent Congress from fulfilling one of its functions - overseeing the work of the federal government.
In this context, a source told Reuters that the Trump administration will inform all members of the House of Representatives on the status of Saudi Arabia on December 13.