*WASHINGTON: US lawmakers threatened Thursday to take tougher actionagainst Saudi Arabia over the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi amid anew revelation that the kingdom’s powerful crown prince spoke of goingafter him with a “bullet.”*
President Donald Trump faces a Friday deadline set by Congress to determineif Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ordered the assassination of Khashoggi,who was strangled and dismembered after entering the kingdom’s consulate inIstanbul on October 2.
Special UN rapporteur, Agnes Callamard, said Thursday after a visit toTurkey that the killing of Khashoggi, who had written critical pieces onSaudi Arabia in The Washington Post, had been “planned and perpetrated” bySaudi officials.
[image: Khashoggi]
The New York Times, citing officials who had seen US intelligence, saidthat Prince Mohammed had warned in an intercepted conversation to an aidein 2017 that he would go after Khashoggi “with a bullet” if he did notreturn to Saudi Arabia from the United States.
US intelligence understood that the ambitious 33-year-old heir apparent wasready to kill the journalist, although he may not have literally meant toshoot him, according to the newspaper.
The kingdom, after initially denying any knowledge of Khashoggi’sdisappearance, has acknowledged that a team killed him inside the embassybut described it as a rogue operation that did not involve the crown prince.
In October, the then top Republican and Democrat on the Senate ForeignRelations Committee invoked a law that gave the Trump administration 120days — until February 8 — to determine whether Prince Mohammed orderedKhashoggi’s murder and to outline actions against him.*Congress ready to act*
Predicting little movement, a bipartisan group of senators on Thursdayproposed a bill to cut off some weapons sales to Saudi Arabia including oftanks, long-range fighter jets and ordnance for automatic weapons.
The bill would also require sanctions against any Saudis involved inKhashoggi’s killing and require State Department reports on human rights inthe kingdom and in the conduct of its war in Yemen.
“Seeing as the Trump administration has no intention of insisting on fullaccountability for Mr. Khashoggi’s murderers, it is time for Congress tostep in and impose real consequences to fundamentally re-examine ourrelationship with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and with the Saudi-ledcoalition in Yemen,” said Robert Menendez, the top Democrat on the SenateForeign Relations Committee.
The bill enjoys support from top Republicans including Senator LindseyGraham, usually a close ally of Trump.
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“While Saudi Arabia is a strategic ally, the behavior of the crown prince –in multiple ways – has shown disrespect for the relationship and made him,in my view, beyond toxic,” Graham said.
The Senate already voted in December to end support for the bloodySaudi-led offensive on rebels in Yemen, where millions are on the brink ofstarvation in what the United Nations calls the world’s worst humanitariancrisis.
The move is likely to pass the new Democratic-led House of Representativesafter a hearing on legislation Wednesday, although Trump could exercise hisveto.
*Trump supports prince*
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo raised Khashoggi’s killing among otherissues during a meeting Thursday with Adel al-Jubeir, the Saudi minister ofstate for foreign affairs, according to the State Department.
But Trump has publicly said that he is not concerned whether Crown PrinceMohammed was involved in Khashoggi’s killing, saying the Saudi alliancebenefits Washington due to the kingdom’s major purchases of weapons.
Asked about Friday’s deadline, State Department spokesman Robert Palladinosaid that the United States had already taken action over Khashoggi’skilling, pointing to last year’s revocation of visas for nearly two dozenSaudi officials and the freezing of assets of 17 others.
“We will continue to consult with the Congress and work to hold accountablethose who are responsible for Jamal Khashoggi’s killing,” Palladino toldreporters, declining to say if more action would be forthcoming.
In a joint statement accompanied by a rally outside the White House, sixadvocacy groups including Human Rights Watch, Reporters Without Borders andthe Committee to Protect Journalists urged Trump to release CIA records onKhashoggi’s death, support an independent investigation and press theSaudis to free detained reporters and activists.
“Notwithstanding public and congressional outrage and the reported findingsof the CIA, the Trump administration appears to be engaged in a cover-up onbehalf of the Saudi government,” they wrote. -APP/AFP
