Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Senators Just Responded to Their Closed Door CIA Briefing on the Murder of Jamal Khashoggi, and We Now Know Why the White House Didn't Want That Briefing to Happen

Oof.

After being briefed by the CIA on the death of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi, senators of both parties came out swinging in their condemnation of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

CIA Director Gina Haspel shared her findings with the US Senate Tuesday afternoon.


"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," Republican Lindsey Graham of South Carolina said at a press conference. "There is zero chance that this happened in such fashion without the crown prince."

Bob Corker (R-TX) followed suit, telling reporters he has "zero question" that the crown prince "ordered the killing, monitored the killing, knew exactly what was happening and planned it in advance."

Bin Salman would be "convicted in 30 minutes" if he were in front of a jury, said Corker.

Watch below:

Graham said although there is no "smoking gun," there is a "smoking saw," referring to the tool used to mutilate Khashoggi at the Saudi embassy in Istanbul in October.

Bin Salman is a "wrecking ball," Graham adding that the crown prince was "complicit in the murder" of Khashoggi to the "highest level possible."

"Saudi Arabia is a strategic ally and the relationship is worth saving," Graham told ABC, "but not at all costs."

Watch below:

Democrats on the Hill urged action.

“The views that I had before have only solidified,” said Bob Menendez (D-NJ), the ranking member on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He joined his party in demanding an "up or down vote" on a resolution that would end US military aid to Saudi Arabia in Yemen, which has been torn apart by civil war.

Following the meeting with Haspel, Senator Richard Shelby (R-AL) emerged unwilling to risk souring US-Saudi relations, despite the evidence presented to him.

“Somebody should be punished,” he said. “Now the question is how do you separate the Saudi crown prince and his group from the nation itself?”

President Donald Trump has been reluctant to accept Saudi Arabia's culpability in Khashoggi's death, emphasizing the importance of the economic relationship — including a non-existent $450 billion arms deal — between the Saudi monarchy and the United States.

Trump sanctioned 17 Saudi nationals connected with the crime but has not levied any consequences on the crown prince himself.

Twitter wants to know when Republicans are going to hold Trump accountable for his part in the coverup.

Last week, meanwhile, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis denied bin Salman's involvement in the murder of Khashoggi, a permanent resident of the United States.

"There is no direct evidence" connecting the crown prince to the killing, Pompeo said at a press briefing. “I was asked to be here, and I’m here,” Pompeo snapped.

These remarks came after Pompeo and Mattis announced that the White House had instructed Haspel not to brief the Senate.

Democrats in Congress's upper chamber were not happy.

“We were told during this briefing that it was the direction of the White House that she not attend,” said Senator Dick Durbin (D-Ill) at the time. “I cannot recall a briefing on such a sensitive nature where we have been denied access to the intelligence agencies of the United States.”

Durbin said he and his colleagues "asked why Gina Haspel wasn’t there, and the two who were there said that was the decision of the White House."

Later that day, CIA Press Secretary Timothy Barret released a statement denying the agency had been asked by the White House to stand down.

“While Director Haspel did not attend today’s Yemen policy briefing, the agency has already briefed the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and congressional leadership on the totality of the compartmented, classified intelligence and will continue to provide updates on this important matter to policymakers and Congress. The notion that anyone told Director Haspel not to attend today's briefing is false.”

Also last week, National Security Advisor John Bolton refused to hear audio recordings of Khashoggi being killed — because he does not speak Arabic.

On Monday, Bolton told Wall Street Journal Editor at Large Gerard Baker that reports of bin Salman's involvement in Khashoggi's murder were "erroneous."

Bolton said he, Pompeo and Mattis "didn't see anything" in the intelligence reports to "justify that conclusion."

More from People/donald-trump

Donald Trump; Playstation 5 logo
Andrew Harnik/Getty Images; Thomas Fuller/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

Gamers Rage After Sony Raises Price Of Playstation Amid Trump's Tariffs

Gamers are very unhappy after Sony announced a $50 price hike on PS5 gaming consoles due to "a challenging economic environment"—a move that puts them in line with many global businesses impacted by President Donald Trump's tariffs.

In a blog post, Isabelle Tomatis, Sony Interactive Entertainment's Vice President of Global Marketing, said the company has "made the difficult decision to increase the recommended retail price for PlayStation 5 consoles in the U.S. starting on August 21."

Keep ReadingShow less

People In Long-Term Relationships Explain The Things No One Tells You About

None of us can look into the future and scan everything that will ever happen to us, so there's really no telling exactly what will happen at that job, during that vacation, or throughout that relationship.

But at least on the last point, there are some things that tend to come up in long-term relationships and marriages that brand new love birds might not see coming.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots from @k_bug68's TikTok video
@k_bug68/TikTok

Grocery Store Employee's Iconically Bad Decorating Job On $30 Cake Has The Internet Cackling

We all make mistakes. Sometimes the best thing we can do is laugh at them.

TikToker @k_bug68 showed herself at the beginning of a TikTok video, appearing clearly amused as she looks down at the camera.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots from @zarababyz's TikTok video
@zarababyz/TikTok

Little Girl Goes Viral For Her Adorable Way Of Wearing Her Backpack For First Day Of Preschool

Back-to-school season is in full swing, and everyone's social media feeds are full of cute, smiling faces off to their first day of school, more mature faces off to their last first day before college, and every school year in between.

And let's not forget the accessories, including outfits of the day, backpacks and purses, and more!

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots from @adayinaeats' TikTok video
@adayinaeats/TikTok

Working Mom Gets Emotional After Realizing She's Missing All Her Baby's Major Milestones

Anyone who has raised children or is regularly around children can attest that they truly do grow up so fast.

That's what makes it so hard for new parents to go back to work after having a baby. It's not necessarily balancing the new responsibilities of parenthood with their preexisting responsibilities as a working adult, in an office and at home. It's the fact that they're going to miss out on some of the first moments and milestones with their children, which they can't ever get back.

Keep ReadingShow less