(HorizonPost.com) – With the guidance of the Biden administration, a U.S. Federal court has dismissed a case against Saudi Arabia’s crown prince over the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, according to The Daily Caller. The decision stated that the crown prince was protected by immunity as a head of state or government.
Biden’s state department reportedly sent a letter to the Justice Department in November backing immunity for Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The letter states that he should not be prosecuted so long as he is in office.
Khashoggi’s fiancée Hatice Cengiz filed the lawsuit after a U.S. report concluded that the journalist was murdered by Saudi agents in Saudi Arabia’s consulate in Istanbul in 2018.
Breaking News: A U.S. court followed the Biden administration’s guidance and dismissed a suit against Saudi Arabia’s crown prince over Jamal Khashoggi’s murder. https://t.co/1KYoCnlR65
— The New York Times (@nytimes) December 7, 2022
Democratic Representative Ilhan Omar has reportedly called on the Biden administration to openly sanction the crown prince when it was revealed he was responsible for Khashoggi’s death. She introduced legislation for the sanctions in 2021. The bill called for Salman’s assets to be frozen and suggested that transactions between him and the United States be banned.
“This bill is not without precedent,” Omar said. From Iran to Russia, the United States regularly sanctions foreign leaders who commit destabilizing or violent acts. We must treat the Saudi Arabian Crown Prince no differently.”
White House coordinator for strategic communications at the National Security Council John Kirby promised to “re-evaluate” the relationship between the two countries after Saudi Arabia cut oil outputs. Biden also reiterated Kirby’s statements two weeks after.
But Saudi Arabia is alleging that Biden sought to delay oil production cuts ahead of the midterms as he threatened the country with cutting off arms supplies, according to The Daily Wire. In his July visit, Biden also reportedly promised to make the country a “pariah” for killing Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi if they did not delay cutting oil production. Critics of the president are suggesting that this looks a lot like a quid pro quo that Trump was impeached for.
Some Twitter users expressed scrutiny at the administration’s guidance to grant the crown prince immunity, with one writing, “They was hittin you over the head with the oil prices huh.”
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