Senator Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), speaking on Fox News’s Fox & Friends October 16, blamed Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for the disappearance of Washington Post contributor Jamal Khashoggi. Khashoggi disappeared after being seen entering the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul on October 2 to get paperwork needed for his marriage. The senator said that he was “personally offended” by Khashoggi’s disappearance.
Speaking during the popular news program, Graham said that it was “up to the president” to decide how he would respond to Saudi Arabia.
Graham then added: “What I would do, I know what I’m going to do, I’m going to sanction the hell out of Saudi Arabia.”
Graham was highly critical of Prince bin Salman, saying:
“This guy is a wrecking ball. He had [Khashoggi] murdered in the consulate in Turkey. Expect me to ignore it? I feel used and abused.” By that, Graham was referring to his previous support for Saudi Arabia as a senator. “I was on the floor every time defending Saudi Arabia because they are a good ally.”
Despite Graham’s strong condemnation of Prince bin Salman, the Washington Post reported that President Trump has been hesitant to blame the Saudis for Khashoggi’s disappearance. In tweets made on October 16, Trump said he had just spoken with the crown prince, “who totally denied any knowledge of what took place in their Turkish Consulate.”
The president added that the prince “told me that he has already started, and will rapidly expand, a full and complete investigation into this matter. Answers will be forthcoming shortly.”
The Post, for which contributor Jamal Khashoggi was a contributor, reported last week that the crown prince had ordered an operation to lure the journalist back to Saudi Arabia from his home in Virginia and then detain him, citing to U.S. intelligence intercepts of Saudi officials discussing the plan.
Speaking to reporters at the Oval Office on October 17, Trump said he is eager to get to the bottom of the disappearance of Khashoggi, reported The Hill. “They’re an important ally. But I want to find out what happened, where is the fault, and we will probably know that by the end of the week,” Trump said.
Image: Gage Skidmore / Wikimedia Commons
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