A bipartisan group of senators went against the White House Wednesday, introducing a resolution urging the Trump administration and the international community to blame Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for the murder of Saudi dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., a Trump ally, said the crown prince needs to be held accountable for Khashoggi’s death after the CIA reportedly found with a “high confidence” he was linked to the Saudi royal family critic’s disappearance following an Oct. 2 visit to the kingdom’s consulate in Istanbul.
“This resolution — without equivocation — definitively states that the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia was complicit in the murder of Mr. Khashoggi and has been a wrecking ball to the region jeopardizing our national security interests on multiple fronts,” Graham said in a statement, referring to the death of the U.S. resident and Washington Post columnist. “It will be up to Saudi Arabia as to how to deal with this matter. But it is up to the United States to firmly stand for who we are and what we believe.”
Sens. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., Todd Young, R-Ind., Chris Coons, D-Del., Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., and Ed Markey, D-Mass., joined Graham in introducing the resolution. The measure also apportions blame to the Saudi government, particularly the crown prince, over ongoing political and humanitarian crises in Yemen and Qatar. It similarly calls for the immediate release of Saudi blogger Raif Badawi “and other detained political prisoners.”
[Read more: GOP senators think Saudi’s crown prince is guilty of Khashoggi murder after CIA briefing]
The move comes after President Trump and administration officials have repeatedly downplayed the importance of Crown Prince Mohammed’s alleged involvement in Khashoggi’s murder. Instead, Trump has highlighted the mutually beneficial financial relationship between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia.
The Trump administration has sanctioned 17 Saudis believed to be responsible for Khashoggi’s death; 11 people have also been charged by Saudi prosecutors over his killing, five of whom face the death penalty.
Editor’s note: A previous version of this article mischaracterized Jamal Khashoggi’s residency. The Washington Examiner regrets the error.
