Saudi crown prince 'ordered, monitored' killing of Khashoggi, Corker says
Republican senators reacted with outrage Tuesday after leaving a classified briefing about the murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi, promising swift action to confront both Saudi Arabia and the White House's timid response to the killing.
GOP Sens. Bob Corker of Tennessee and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina are leading the charge to offer new legislation that would rebuke Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, as well as potentially limit US involvement in the Saudi-led war in Yemen, saying their push was bolstered by the classified briefing, which detailed intelligence linking the Saudi leader to the murder of the US-based journalist.
"There's not a smoking gun, there's a smoking saw," said Graham, referring to reports that the Saudi team had included a forensic expert who arrived with equipment to dismember Khashoggi's body.
Referring to the prince, who is known by his initials, Graham said, "You have to be willfully blind not to come to the conclusion that this was orchestrated and organized by people under the command of MBS and that he was intrinsically involved in the demise of Mr. Khashoggi."
---
'Deep state' concerns
The CIA, meanwhile, is facing growing pressure to brief the full Senate, since Tuesday's briefing comprised only roughly a dozen senators from the party leadership and who sit on key committees.
Sen. Rand Paul, a Kentucky Republican, railed at the "deep state" for limiting the information flow to senators, while Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer demanded the full Senate be briefed as soon as possible.
"While I will not discuss the content of the Haspel briefing, it reinforced the need for a strong response to the murder of Jamal Khashoggi," the New York Democrat said. "CIA Director Haspel should brief the full Senate without delay."
Sen. Richard Durbin, an Illinois Democrat, said in a statement that "every Senator should hear what I heard this afternoon. CIA Director Haspel must brief the full Senate immediately."
And Sen. John Kennedy, a Louisiana Republican who was not part of the briefing, said that "by the director choosing to meet with some, but not others, congratulations to her, she has pissed off everybody."
Read more
https://edition.cnn.com/2018/12/04/p...ggi/index.html