Though many US politicians have long believed that Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MbS) was involved in the October killing of Saudi journalist and US resident Jamal Khashoggi at his country's Istanbul consulate, President Donald Trump and his administration have yet to say as much.

On Tuesday, CIA Director Gina Haspel briefed top senators in a closed-door meeting and those suspicions were confirmed, according to senators who spoke with reporters after it adjourned.

Those same senators were angered last week when the administration is reported to have kept Haspel from briefing them on the issue, preferring to send Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Secretary of Defense James Mattis instead. After hearing Haspel's assessment, they said evidence of the crown prince's involvement was clear.

'Zero question'

Republican Senator Bob Corker, who heads the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, told reporters: "I have zero question in my mind that the crown prince directed the murder and was kept appraised of the situation all the way through."

Senator Bob Menendez, who is the top Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee, said: "I am now more convinced than I was before and I was pretty convinced." Menendez has been pushing for a strong response to the war in Yemen and the Khashoggi killing and has introduced legislation to deliver that response.

Senator Lindsey Graham, who has been seen as a supporter of Trump, has shown defiance to the president's stance on the issue of late and painted a dark picture of Mohammed bin Salman.

Although Graham emphasized the importance of America's relationship with Saudi Arabia, he said it was "worth saving, but not at all costs."

'Not a reliable partner'

Graham also said the US would do great damage to its reputation and national security if it failed "to deal with MbS," referring to the crown prince by his initials. He went on to call the young leader "a wrecking ball" and stressed his belief that the prince could not be "a reliable partner to the United States."

After describing MbS as "crazy" and "dangerous," Graham said he would work to gain bipartisan support for a Senate resolution declaring the crown prince complicit in the Khashoggi murder, which Graham called "brutal," adding that it "says a lot about him as a person."

Graham further emphasized the fact that the world was watching to see whether America's relationships were "more important than its values" and that by looking the other way the US would be "making the world a more dangerous place."

Jamal Khashoggi: A mysterious disappearance and death Vanishes into thin air October 2: Prominent journalist Jamal Khashoggi was last seen entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, where he had gone to obtain an official document for his upcoming marriage to his Turkish fiancee, Hatice Cengiz. He never emerged from the building, prompting Cengiz, who waited outside, to raise the alarm.

Jamal Khashoggi: A mysterious disappearance and death Confusion over whereabouts October 3: Turkish and Saudi officials came up with conflicting reports on Khashoggi's whereabouts. Riyadh said the journalist had left the mission shortly after his work was done. But Turkish presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin said the journalist was still in the consulate.

Jamal Khashoggi: A mysterious disappearance and death Murder claims October 6: Turkish officials said they believed the journalist was likely killed inside the Saudi consulate. The Washington Post, for which Khashoggi wrote, cited unnamed sources to report that Turkish investigators believe a 15-member team "came from Saudi Arabia" to kill the man.

Jamal Khashoggi: A mysterious disappearance and death Ankara seeks proof October 8: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called on Saudi Arabia to prove that Khashoggi left its consulate in Istanbul. Turkey also sought permission to search the mission premises. US President Donald Trump voiced concern about the journalist's disappearance.

Jamal Khashoggi: A mysterious disappearance and death 'Davos in the Desert' hit October 12: British billionaire Richard Branson halted talks over a $1 billion Saudi investment in his Virgin group's space ventures, citing Khashoggi's case. He also pulled out of an investment conference in Riyadh dubbed the "Davos in the Desert." His move was followed by Uber's Dara Khosrowshahi, JP Morgan's Jamie Dimon and a host of other business leaders.

Jamal Khashoggi: A mysterious disappearance and death Search operation October 15: Turkish investigators searched the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. The search lasted more than eight hours and investigators removed samples from the building, including soil from the consulate garden and a metal door, one official said.

Jamal Khashoggi: A mysterious disappearance and death Death after fistfight October 19: Saudi Arabia finally admitted that Khashoggi died at the consulate. The kingdom's public prosecutor said preliminary investigations showed the journalist was killed in a "fistfight." He added that 18 people had been detained. A Saudi Foreign Ministry official said the country is "investigating the regrettable and painful incident."

Jamal Khashoggi: A mysterious disappearance and death 'Grave mistake' October 21: Saudi Arabia provided yet another account of what happened to Khashoggi. The kingdom's foreign minister admitted the journalist was killed in a "rogue operation," calling it a "huge and grave mistake," but insisted that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had not been aware of the murder. Riyadh said it had no idea where Khashoggi's body was.

Jamal Khashoggi: A mysterious disappearance and death Germany halts arms sales October 21: German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Germany would put arms exports to Saudi Arabia on hold for the time being, given the unexplained circumstances of Khashoggi's death. Germany is the fourth largest exporter of weapons to Saudi Arabia after the United States, Britain and France.

Jamal Khashoggi: A mysterious disappearance and death Strangled to death, dissolved in acid October 31: The Turkish prosecutor concluded that Khashoggi was strangled to death soon after entering the consulate, and was then dismembered. Another Turkish official later claimed the body was dissolved in acid. Turkish President Erdogan said the order to murder the journalist came from "the highest levels" of Saudi Arabia's government.

Jamal Khashoggi: A mysterious disappearance and death Grilled at the UN November 5: Saudi Arabia told the United Nations it would prosecute those responsible for Khashoggi's murder. This came as the United States and dozens of other countries raised the journalist's death before the UN Human Rights Council and called for a transparent investigation.

Jamal Khashoggi: A mysterious disappearance and death Fiancee in mourning November 8: Khashoggi's fiancee, Hatice Cengiz, wrote on Twitter that she was "unable to express her sorrow" upon learning that the journalist's body was dissolved with chemicals. "Are these killers and those behind it human beings?" she tweeted.

Jamal Khashoggi: A mysterious disappearance and death Turkey shares audio recordings November 10: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan reveals that officials from Saudi Arabia, the US, Germany, France and Britain have listened to audio recordings related to the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.

Jamal Khashoggi: A mysterious disappearance and death Symbolic funeral prayers November 16: A symbolic funeral prayer for Khashoggi is held in the courtyard of the Fatih Mosque in Istanbul. Yasin Aktay, advisor to President Erdogan, speaks at the service.

Jamal Khashoggi: A mysterious disappearance and death Saudi-owned villas searched November 26: Turkish forensic police bring the investigation to the Turkish province of Yalova, where sniffer dogs and drones search two Saudi-owned villas in the village Samanli.

Jamal Khashoggi: A mysterious disappearance and death 100 days since killing January 10: Amnesty International Turkey members demonstrate outside the Saudi Arabia Consulate in Istanbul, marking 100 day since the killing of Jamal Khashoggi. One woman holds up a street sign which reads "Jamal Khashoggi Street". The organization has called for an international investigation into the case.

Jamal Khashoggi: A mysterious disappearance and death Saudi murder trial begins January 3: The Khashoggi trial begins in Saudi Arabia, where state prosecutors say they will seek the death sentence for five of the eleven suspects. A request for the gathered evidence has been send to Turkish authorities. A date for the second hearing has not yet been set.

Jamal Khashoggi: A mysterious disappearance and death UN inquiry team in Turkey January 28: Agnes Callamard, who is leading the UN probe into the handling of the Khashoggi case, arrives in Ankara where she meets with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu. The human rights expect will stay in the country for the rest of the week to speak with prosecutors and others involved in the case. Author: Ashutosh Pandey



'You have to be willfully blind'

Asked about the fact that Secretaries Pompeo and Mattis declined to condemn the crown prince, Graham said that they were simply following the lead of the president. He added: "You have to be willfully blind not to come to the conclusion that this was orchestrated and organized by people under the command of MbS." Graham said. He felt the two men were not accusing MbS of complicity for lack of evidence but rather because "the administration doesn't want to go down that road."

Cash versus values

Trump has repeatedly claimed that Saudi Arabia has promised to buy massive amounts of US arms as justification for his unwillingness to condemn the crown prince.

Leading senators have now voiced their strong desire to end arms sales to Saudi Arabia, stop US support for the kingdom's ongoing war in Yemen and to also issue new sanctions against Saudi Arabia over MbS' supposed role in the Khashoggi killing.

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js/jm (AFP, Reuters)

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