Oregon’s senior U.S. senator on Wednesday blasted Secretary of State Mike Pompeo over the State Department’s ongoing silence about multiple cases involving students from Saudi Arabia who vanished while facing criminal charges.

Sen. Ron Wyden reiterated his demands for answers and action from the nation’s top diplomat over the Saudi government’s suspected role in these defendants’ disappearance from Oregon and elsewhere throughout the country.

He also criticized the Trump administration for its failure to publicly address the findings of an Oregonian/OregonLive investigation, which have received national and international attention.

Wyden’s rebuke comes more than six weeks after he first requested that the State Department look into these cases.

“It is unacceptable that you failed to respond to my letter sent December 28, 2018 or indicate any concern whatsoever about the apparent pattern of Saudi fugitives evading justice for serious, violent crimes,” Wyden, a Democrat, wrote to Pompeo in a letter obtained by The Oregonian/OregonLive.

“I now expect the State Department to use all of the tools and resources at its disposal to investigate this issue and hold the Saudi government accountable.”

The Oregonian/OregonLive has revealed criminal cases involving at least five Saudi nationals who disappeared from Oregon before they faced trial or completed their jail sentence.

They include two accused rapists, a pair of suspected hit-and-run drivers and one man accused of having a trove of child pornography on his computer.

All were young men studying at a public college or university in Oregon with assistance from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia at the time of their arrest.

In at least four of those cases, the Saudi government paid the defendant’s bail and legal fees.

Federal law enforcement officials told The Oregonian/OregonLive in December they believe the Saudi government helped at least one of these suspects, Abdulrahman Sameer Noorah, flee the U.S. before his 2017 trial in the hit-and-run death of a Portland teen.

Prosecutors in Ohio also allege Saudi officials helped orchestrate the escape of a manslaughter suspect in 1988, suggesting the wealthy kingdom has spent decades helping its citizens avoid prosecution in the U.S. and leaving untold numbers of victims without recourse.

In addition to the State Department, Wyden, who sits on the Senate’s Select Committee on Intelligence, has formally sought answers about the Saudi fugitives from the Department of Justice and Customs and Border protection. He has not received a response from either.

Last week, during a gathering of intelligence officials in Washington, D.C., the senator publicly prodded FBI Director Christopher Wray about the missing students. Wyden and fellow Oregon Sen. Jeff Merkley have also introduced bills targeting foreign consulates that help their citizens escape criminal prosecution in the U.S.

In his letter Tuesday, Wyden also urged Pompeo to push for answers from Prince Khalid bin Salman, the Saudi ambassador to the U.S.

“While I recognize that the United States does not have an extradition treaty with Saudi Arabia, this does not relieve the Administration from its responsibility of pressing for justice on behalf of these American citizens,” Wyden said.

“Foreign governments cannot disregard U.S. laws and abuse diplomatic privileges by helping criminals escape,” he continued. “The Administration has failed to explain what, if anything, it is doing to ensure these men face American justice.”

The State Department and Saudi embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Read Wyden’s full letter here.

Read other stories from this series:

He was accused of killing a Portland teen. Feds believe the Saudis helped him escape

Gone: More cases emerge of Saudi students vanishing while facing Oregon charges

Saudi students who vanish before trial span states, decades

Oregon’s Merkley and Wyden seek to punish Saudi Arabia over students who vanished before trial

Oregon’s Wyden prods FBI director for answers about Saudi role in student disappearances

-- Shane Dixon Kavanaugh; 503-294-7632