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Saudi Arabia’s stunning Friday night admission that its officials killed journalist Jamal Khashoggi represented “a good first step” for President Donald Trump, but prompted immediate skepticism and anger from Congress, including top figures in Trump’s own party.
Now it’s up to Capitol Hill to decide where U.S. relations with the longtime partner go and whether America will stick to even limited advocacy for human rights abroad.
Congress has powerful tools at its disposal and at least three expected votes over the next few months that it could use to press the Saudis for accountability and weaken their sense of impunity.
And there’s a growing expectation that lawmakers must act to signal U.S. leadership. American allies say they doubt the Saudis will seriously investigate a plot that might implicate the kingdom’s own leadership, and they don’t trust the Saudi-friendly Trump administration to get to the truth. Despite some criticism of Riyadh, Trump’s team has unsurprisingly stuck to its general approach on partners’ human rights violations: avoid public criticism, claim to be urging change in private.
Trump’s biggest move to push Riyadh so far ― withdrawing Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin from a key Saudi investment conference ― came after loud requests from Republican senators. Overall, the administration is focused on finding a narrative that avoids any rupture with the kingdom on what Trump sees as key issues: cooperation against Saudi rival Iran; arms deals that the president pitches as jobs programs; and business ties that personally benefit the Trump family.
A bipartisan group of lawmakers has already triggered a process that compels Trump officials to look into Khashoggi’s killing and could lead to human rights-related sanctions on top Saudis. After the Saudis’ statement, Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), the chair of the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee, underscored the importance of that investigation.
“[The Saudis] can undergo their own investigation, but the U.S. administration must make its own independent, credible determination of responsibility for Khashoggi’s murder,” Corker tweeted.
Full Story: [HuffPost]
