Senior officials in the administration of President Donald Trump defended the relationship with Saudi Arabia and Trump's likely position that the Saudi crown prince did not have a role in the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi during a briefing to the US Senate.
Foreign Secretary Mike Pompeo said after briefing the Senate that Defense Secretary James Matisse spoke to Congress about US policy in Yemen and its policy with Saudi Arabia, as well as the heinous crime of Khashoggi.
They noted that there was thought of adopting a draft resolution on Saudi Arabia, but added that he believed that such a project would be harmful and would encourage the Huthis not to come to Sweden to participate in the discussions.
Any decision to cut off US military aid to Saudi Arabia in the Yemen war would be a bad time and would undermine diplomatic efforts to reach a ceasefire agreement in Yemen, he said.
Defense Secretary James Matisse said there was no clear intelligence evidence about the Saudi Crown Prince's involvement in Khashoggi's death.
"We have no hard evidence to say that the Saudi Crown Prince is involved. By the way, I personally read all the intelligence and read all the intelligence translations. I do not understand that language, but I have read the translation of the alleged recordings."
Escalation from Congress
Republican Senator Lindsey Graham threatened to abstain from voting on any draft resolution if intelligence did not provide a briefing on the Khashoggi case, recalling that Khashoggi's killing could not have happened without the knowledge of the Saudi crown prince, and we should know the CIA assessment.
The chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Bob Korker, stressed that he understood Saudi Arabia was an ally of the United States, but pointed out that the Saudi Crown Prince was out of control, referring to the fate of the Saudi war in Yemen.
Republican Senator Mike Lee said the case of Khashoggi's murder had caught the attention of the Americans and turned them against Saudi Arabia. In stinging criticism of Trump's position, Senator Dick Durban said the White House would not recognize the direct involvement of Mohammed bin Salman in Khashoggi's murder.