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Trump may skip deadline for report on Saudi journalist's murder


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Trump may skip deadline for report on Saudi journalist's murder

By Patricia Zengerle

 

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FILE PHOTO: A demonstrator holds picture of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi during a protest in front of Saudi Arabia's consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, October 5, 2018. REUTERS/Osman Orsal//File Photo

 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Trump administration signaled on Friday it was unlikely to meet a deadline to report to Congress on whether it intends to impose sanctions on those responsible for the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, prompting an angry backlash on Capitol Hill.

 

Republican and Democratic lawmakers triggered a provision of the Global Magnitsky human rights act in October, giving the administration 120 days until Feb. 8 to report on who was responsible for the death of Khashoggi and whether the United States would impose sanctions on that person or persons.

 

Khashoggi, a U.S. resident who wrote for The Washington Post, was killed at a Saudi consulate in Turkey in early October, sparking global outrage. In Saudi Arabia, 11 suspects have been indicted in the murder, and officials have rejected accusations that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ordered the killing.

 

Congressional aides said they had not received a report from the White House by early evening on Friday. Some said they still hoped to receive it by early next week, but the administration said President Donald Trump did not feel the need to send one.

 

"The President maintains his discretion to decline to act on congressional committee requests when appropriate," a senior administration official said in an emailed statement. "The U.S. Government will continue to consult with Congress and work to hold accountable those responsible for Jamal Khashoggi's killing."

 

Some lawmakers responded angrily and said they intended to punish whoever was responsible.

 

"The administration's refusal to deal with this issue and keep Congress informed underscores the need to get to the bottom of what is motivating the Trump foreign policy," Eliot Engel, the Democratic chairman of the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee, said in a statement.

 

The New York Times reported on Thursday that the Saudi crown prince had said a year before Khashoggi's death that he would use "a bullet" on Khashoggi if he did not return home and end his criticism of the government.

 

Saudi Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Adel al-Jubeir told reporters on Friday the prince did not order Khashoggi's killing but declined comment on the Times story.

 

Al-Jubeir said he wanted Congress to let the Saudi legal process conclude before taking action on sanctions. "We are doing what we need to do in terms of acknowledging the mistake, investigating, charging and holding people accountable," he said.

 

Al-Jubeir said he believed some congressional criticism was "driven by politics."

 

'THE LAW IS CLEAR'

 

Juan Pachon, a spokesman for Senator Bob Menendez, the top Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee, said Trump was breaking the law by failing to send the report.

 

"The law is clear," Pachon said. "It requires a determination and report in response to the letter we sent with (former Foreign Relations Chairman Bob) Corker. The president has no discretion here. He's either complying with the law or breaking it."

 

Members of Congress, including many of Trump's fellow Republicans as well as Democrats, have clamored for a strong response to Khashoggi's murder as well as the humanitarian crisis in Yemen, where a Saudi-led coalition is fighting Iran-backed Houthi rebels.

 

Ahead of the deadline, a group of Republican and Democratic senators on Thursday renewed their push to penalize Saudi Arabia, unveiling legislation to bar some arms sales and impose sanctions on those responsible for Khashoggi's death.

 

Trump has resisted such legislative efforts, viewing weapons sales as an important source of U.S. jobs and standing by the Saudi crown prince. He is also reluctant to disturb the strategic relationship with the kingdom, seen as an important regional counterbalance to Iran.

 

Senator Jim Risch, the Republican chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said he expected more legislation would be introduced.

 

Risch also said Secretary of State Mike Pompeo wrote to him on Friday, describing the Trump administration's past sanctions and adding that he expected "a more detailed briefing" later.

 

The United States imposed economic sanctions on 17 Saudi officials - not including the crown prince - in November for their role in Khashoggi's killing.

 

A State Department spokesperson confirmed that Pompeo had provided an update to members of Congress on Friday, but did not give details on what he said.

 

After receiving Pompeo's letter, Senator Menendez said: "I am very disappointed that the response from Secretary Pompeo doesn't come close to fulfilling the statutory mandate and demonstrates what the administration has wanted all along - the Khashoggi murder to be forgotten."

 

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-- © Copyright Reuters 2019-02-09

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#Shame on The Trump Administration for not going about this better. Sure, sure, some say there is too much money and relations at stake. However, coming from the apparent country that represent the "bastion of freedom," human rights, and justice for all, its eye opening.

 

Canada too. Look how much Canada previously stood up to S.A. Now look at them with Venezuela. Wow.

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16 hours ago, rooster59 said:

The law is clear," Pachon said. "It requires a determination and report in response to the letter we sent with (former Foreign Relations Chairman Bob) Corker. The president has no discretion here. He's either complying with the law or breaking it."

 

16 hours ago, rooster59 said:

but the administration said President Donald Trump did not feel the need to send one.

 

"The President maintains his discretion to decline to act on congressional committee requests when appropriate," a senior administration official said 

Burn it all!

Bugger winter, the Phoenix is coming.

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Sad way to die but I have always wondered why a Saudi guy wanted by the Saudi's, US citizenship or not would want to walk into a Saudi Embassy in Turkey of all places, sounds like a suicide mission.

 

Will Trump do somethings to jeopardize a huge arms deal is the question.

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MBS'es Greatest "Hits"?

 

Number One, with a bullet.

 

MBS had threatened to use 'a bullet' on Jamal Khashoggi: Report

 

A year before Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi was killed, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman told an aide he would use "a bullet" on the journalist if he did not return home and end his criticism of the government, according to a New York Times report.

 

The crown prince's comments to a top aide in 2017 were made well before Khashoggi was killed last October in a Saudi consulate in Istanbul, the NYT reported on Thursday, citing current and former US and foreign officials knowledgeable about intelligence reports.

 

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/02/mbs-threatened-bullet-jamal-khashoggi-report-190208061807936.html

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What did you expect from the guy who admires putin who murders with a nerve agent in a foreign country or little Kim who kills family with the same method who declares the press is the enemy of the people frankly I would be surprised if he did comply 

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11 hours ago, Kwasaki said:

Sad way to die but I have always wondered why a Saudi guy wanted by the Saudi's, US citizenship or not would want to walk into a Saudi Embassy in Turkey of all places, sounds like a suicide mission.

 

Will Trump do somethings to jeopardize a huge arms deal is the question.

Khashoggi was not a US citizen, he was a US resident. He went to the Saudi embassy because he needed divorce documents which would allow him to remarry his Turkish fiancee. He went to the Saudi embassy in Turkey because that was where he was and the Turks are known for not kowtowing to Saudi Arabia--as should be apparent from the Turkish response to the murder on their soil.  

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On 2/9/2019 at 9:04 PM, rooster59 said:

the administration said President Donald Trump did not feel the need to send one.

 

"The President maintains his discretion to decline to act on congressional committee requests when appropriate," a senior administration official said in an emailed statement.

 

Now there's a shocker!  Who would have ever expected that kind of response from the Criminal in Chief...

 

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On 2/9/2019 at 5:04 PM, rooster59 said:

The U.S. Government will continue to consult with Congress and work to hold accountable those responsible for Jamal Khashoggi's killing."

 

Yeah right, sure you will. 

 

As long as the Saudis are buying arms you won’t do anything. 

 

Pathetic hypocrits that you are. 

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19 hours ago, goferman said:

he was also an American journalist and he was lured inside.

I do not condone what was done to him, " lured " not sure, I saw vid showing him walking into the Embassy, that's Saudi territory is it not even though it was in Turkey.

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21 minutes ago, Bluespunk said:

Yeah right, sure you will. 

 

As long as the Saudis are buying arms you won’t do anything. 

 

Pathetic hypocrits that you are. 

This has nothing to do with what's good for America.  It's about Trump kowtowing to MBS so he would have access to Saudi money when he's out of office. 

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9 hours ago, smotherb said:

Khashoggi was not a US citizen, he was a US resident. He went to the Saudi embassy because he needed divorce documents which would allow him to remarry his Turkish fiancee. He went to the Saudi embassy in Turkey because that was where he was and the Turks are known for not kowtowing to Saudi Arabia--as should be apparent from the Turkish response to the murder on their soil.  

Mr Khashoggi US citizen or not he would have been entitled to full protection as a full US citizen.

I was just trying point out his naivety of not walking into the Saudi Embassy in Washington.

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Khashoggi was a US Resident, not a U.S. Citizen. He had to be dumber than dog dirt to do the Visa thing anywhere but in the Saudi Consulate in the US. In view of the Saudi Kings threat of a "bullet", he should have applied for safety in the US.

Anyone who has spent any time in Saudi Arabia would have known better than to trust them.

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On 2/9/2019 at 3:37 PM, Prissana Pescud said:

Everyone except extremist right wing US Americans knows what US represents now.

It will take decades to remove the taint of the current so called administration.

More than just a taint. The scum of US has risen to the top. Go US. Yay.

Yes, it really stinks, and it is going to take a lot to get rid of it.

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So, the Saudi government killed a Saudi citizen on Saudi soil.  Why should anyone else care enough to impose sanctions, get their panties in a knot, etc? The only reason the story has any traction is Khashoggi's media connection. The networks and media corporations are in a tizzy because "one of their own" was targeted. He was a decades long supporter of the regime in Riyadh and also groups like the Muslim Brotherhood, then wandered off the reservation. 

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4 hours ago, oldrunner said:

Khashoggi was a US Resident, not a U.S. Citizen. He had to be dumber than dog dirt to do the Visa thing anywhere but in the Saudi Consulate in the US. In view of the Saudi Kings threat of a "bullet", he should have applied for safety in the US.

Anyone who has spent any time in Saudi Arabia would have known better than to trust them.

Blame the victim why don’t you?!

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3 hours ago, Hanaguma said:

So, the Saudi government killed a Saudi citizen on Saudi soil.  Why should anyone else care enough to impose sanctions, get their panties in a knot, etc? The only reason the story has any traction is Khashoggi's media connection. The networks and media corporations are in a tizzy because "one of their own" was targeted. He was a decades long supporter of the regime in Riyadh and also groups like the Muslim Brotherhood, then wandered off the reservation. 

Journalist dismembered while still alive for having reported on criminality within the Saudi Regime.

 

Illiberal thinks it’s nothing to worry about.

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3 minutes ago, Chomper Higgot said:

Journalist dismembered while still alive for having reported on criminality within the Saudi Regime.

 

Illiberal thinks it’s nothing to worry about.

Yes, plus let's not forget that that is not what the thread is about. It is about Trump trying to ignore a deadline set by the senate.

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From the media, you would think that Khashoggi was a red white and blue flag waving US patriot, if not born in the US then at least a long term immigrant. In reality, he had only lived in the States for just over a year, and wrote sporadically for the Washington Post for even less time than that. He was incredibly rich and knew a lot of "the right people", which made it easy for him to get a visa to stay in the US.   

 

Of course he shouldn'T have been murdered, and of course he isn't to be blamed for his own death. But, this should hardly be the concern of the Congress. 

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