After President Trump spurned the Magnitsky Act deadline for reporting
to Congress on the Khashoggi murder, Congressional leadership is
expecting to advance its own legislation punishing the Saudi government for its role in the murder.
President Trump has already effectively ruled out punishing the Saudis
for the murder, saying he didn’t want to risk major arms deals with the
kingdom. Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) says that the Senate does not need
Trump’s permission, and believes sanctions are “the most appropriate
step.”
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says that President Trump has been clear
about what is going to happen, and that this does not mean they are “covering up for a murder.” He said Trump might hold people responsible if they get additional information.
Yet all indications are that President Trump had no intention of
punishing the Saudi Crown Prince, because of the importance of the arms
deal. Indeed there is already broad consensus that the prince was behind
this murder, and the Trump Administration only feigns uncertainty as a
cover for its lack of action.
Trump, Congress Set for Saudi Arabia Showdown Over Khashoggi Murder
Pompeo denies US is covering up for a murder
Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.
Join the Discussion!
We welcome thoughtful and respectful comments. Hateful language, illegal content, or attacks against Antiwar.com will be removed.
For more details, please see our Comment Policy.
