Sen. Jeff Merkley Jeffrey (Jeff) Alan MerkleyThe Hill's Morning Report - Sponsored by The Air Line Pilots Association - Trump, Biden renew push for Latino support Sunday shows - Trump team defends coronavirus response Oregon senator says Trump's blame on 'forest management' for wildfires is 'just a big and devastating lie' MORE (D-Ore.) on Wednesday night argued that President Trump Donald John TrumpOmar fires back at Trump over rally remarks: 'This is my country' Pelosi: Trump hurrying to fill SCOTUS seat so he can repeal ObamaCare Trump mocks Biden appearance, mask use ahead of first debate MORE is engaged in a "cover-up of the cover-up" in the killing of Saudi dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Merkley, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said he believes it's possible Trump would veto a Senate rebuke of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who has been accused of ordering Khashoggi's death.

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"His public argument has been that [the Saudis] are a good customer of our arms sales," Merkley told CNN. "And in a bit more sophisticated manner, Secretary [of State Mike] Pompeo has said they’re a source of significant assistance to our priorities in the region."

"So it’s kind of a realpolitik argument that we need to set aside the devastation they’re causing in Yemen, we need to set aside their assassination of an American resident because of those factors," Merkley added. "But what I think that argument misses is that at the heart of this our leadership in the world depends a great deal on our ability to promote a vision for the world that involves human rights, decency, respect, rule of law, leadership, and all those are damaged by this Trump cover-up."

"Our President is engaged in a cover-up of the cover-up." @SenJeffMerkley, on the killing of Jamal Khashoggi.



"Our leadership in the world depends a great deal on our ability to promote a vision for the world that involves human rights," he adds.https://t.co/1hM8S2TMH1 pic.twitter.com/2URlvLq6zz — OutFrontCNN (@OutFrontCNN) December 6, 2018

Khashoggi, a Washington Post journalist and critic of Saudi leadership, was killed after entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul more than two months ago.

Turkish officials have said that the killing was orchestrated by the highest levels of Saudi leadership, and several U.S. senators have voiced confidence the crown prince was involved.

Trump has defended the crown prince and pointed to his repeated denials of involvement in Khashoggi's death. He has cited the importance of economic ties with Saudi Arabia in opting not to pursue harsher punishment.

Pompeo and Defense Secretary James Mattis James Norman MattisBiden courts veterans amid fallout from Trump military controversies Trump says he wanted to take out Syria's Assad but Mattis opposed it Gary Cohn: 'I haven't made up my mind' on vote for president in November MORE briefed lawmakers last month, and indicated there was no "smoking gun" tying the crown prince to the killing.

CIA Director Gina Haspel briefed some senators this week on Khashoggi's killing, prompting renewed calls from senators for action against the crown prince.

A bipartisan group of senators on Wednesday introduced a resolution that would officially state the Senate finds the crown prince was "complicit" in Khashoggi's death.