Dec 19, 2019

Congress is forcing the Donald Trump administration to disclose Riyadh’s alleged role in whisking Saudi fugitives out of the United States — some of whom are wanted for charges as severe as manslaughter, rape and possession of child pornography.

The government funding compromise includes a provision that would require the FBI to declassify “any and all information” regarding Saudi efforts to extricate their citizens while they were “awaiting trial or sentencing for a criminal offense committed in the United States.”

Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., successfully added the language to a State Department funding bill in September, shortly before the Senate unanimously passed identical legislation introduced by Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore.

Why it matters: The alleged Saudi efforts to help its citizens evade the US legal system first came under scrutiny when The Oregonian published an investigative series outlining Riyadh’s suspected role in helping at least 25 Saudi suspects flee the United States and Canada.

The Oregonian’s investigation began after Abdulrahman Sameer Noorah, a Saudi college student, allegedly killed 15-year-old Fallon Smart in a hit-and-run incident. After the Saudi consulate in Los Angeles posted Noorah’s bail, the suspect sliced off the tracking monitor around his ankle, obtained a fake passport and reemerged in Saudi Arabia after fleeing the United States on a private jet. The Department of Homeland Security believes the Saudi consulate facilitated Noorah’s escape as well as the escape of several other Saudi fugitives.