‘There’s not a smoking gun, there’s a smoking saw’: Republican senators say there’s ‘zero question’ the Saudi crown prince ordered the murder of Jamal Khashoggi after briefing by CIA boss
CIA Director Gina Haspel will brief a select group of senators this morning
Briefing on Jamal Khashoggi’s murder comes at the insistence of lawmakers demanding an assessment on the Saudi crown prince’s knowledge of the death
Haspel will now brief ranking Republican and Democratic senators on national security committees in addition to party leadership
The rank and file are being excluded though and Sen. Rand Paul is up in arms
Sen. Lindsey Graham was invited but endorsed Paul in a tweet
Paul accused the White House of selecting who gets to hear from Haspel
By FRANCESCA CHAMBERS
DAILYMAIL.COM
4 December 2018
Senators left a briefing by CIA Director Gina Haspel on Tuesday convinced that the Saudi crown prince was involved in Jamal Khashoggi’s murder, in spite of the president’s claims that the evidence does not implicate him.
‘There’s not a smoking gun, there’s a smoking saw,’ Sen. Lindsey Graham said after the briefing.
Senate Foreign Relations Chairman Bob Corker told reporters: ‘I have zero question in my mind that the crown prince directed the murder … zero question.’
‘To let it stand, in essence allows somebody like MBS to continue with immunity which is inappropriate,’ Corker said. ‘This cannot stand. I would much rather … the administration speak to this.’
The president has spoken on the matter, however, and he claimed the CIA had found no evidence connecting the murder to the crown prince.
Haspel briefed a select group of senators this morning on Jamal Khashoggi’s murder at the insistence of lawmakers demanding an assessment on the Saudi crown prince’s knowledge of the death.
The rank and file were excluded, though, and Sen. Rand Paul went on the war path.
He accused bad actors in the Trump administration, ‘the deep state,’ of withholding information that could implicate Mohammed bin Salman in Khashoggi’s murder.
The senator who sits on the Foreign Relations committee said he has a right to be briefed on matters that will affect his vote on the United States’ military support for the Saudi-led war in Yemen.
‘I think the time has come for the Senate to grab back foreign policy and say that you know what, the president, no president, this president or the previous president, has the power to take our country to war with Saudi Arabia and Yemen without the permission of the president,’ Paul told reporters on Capitol Hill as the briefing with Haspel was being conducted.
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