Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., threatened to withhold his vote on a spending bill if the CIA fails to brief Congress on the murder of Saudi dissident Jamal Khashoggi.

Speaking to reporters, Graham indicated that the briefing lawmakers had just received by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis was insufficient without the CIA present.

“If that briefing is not given soon, it’s going to be hard for me to vote on any spending bill,” Graham said.

[Jim Mattis: ‘No smoking gun’ linking Saudi crown prince to Khashoggi murder]



Sen @LindseyGrahamSC: "The question for me is whether or not the CIA supports the conclusion, with a high degree of confidence, that the Crown Prince was complicit in the murder of Mr. Khashoggi.…I'm not going to blow past this." pic.twitter.com/i28eUcGggF — CSPAN (@cspan) November 28, 2018



Notably absent from the briefing was CIA Director Gina Haspel, who Democratic Whip Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., claimed the White House had prevented from attending — an assertion denied by national security adviser John Bolton.

The CIA has reportedly determined with high confidence that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was involved in ordering Khashoggi’s murder inside a Saudi consulate in Turkey.

But Graham indicated he'll be implacable until he personally hears an update from the CIA.

“The meeting … was inadequate because the CIA was not there. So the question for me is whether or not the CIA supports the conclusion, with a high degree of confidence, that the crown prince was complicit in the murder of Mr. Khashoggi,” Graham continued. “I'm not going to blow past this."

President Trump has faced backlash for casting doubt on the CIA assessment while defending Crown Prince Mohammed.