Republican senators briefed by Central
Intelligence Agency director Gina Haspel about the death of journalist
Jamal Khashoggi Tuesday (Dec. 4) had an immediate reaction: Saudi crown
prince Mohammad bin Salman is guilty.
Lindsey
Graham, the South Carolina senator who has been a loyal supporter of
Donald Trump in recent months, told reporters on Capitol Hill there’s no
“smoking gun,” in the case, but a “smoking saw,”
a reference to the bone saw that the crown prince’s underlings
reportedly brought with them into the Istanbul embassy where Khashoggi
was killed on Oct. 2.
Bob Corker, the retiring Tennessee Republican, said a jury would find the crown prince guilty in minutes.
And Richard Shelby,
the Republican from Alabama, said “all evidence points to that all this
leads back to the crown prince.” Haspel briefed senators heading
committees related to national security; late last month she briefed
intelligence committees in the House and Senate about Khashoggi’s death.
Note EU-Digest: Talk is easy for these Republicans - but they should stop sitting on their hands and do something about it.
