Senate to try again to hold Saudis responsible for Khashoggi killing

Democrats and many Republicans agree that the U.S. must retaliate, citing the conclusion from U.S. intelligence that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ordered Khashoggi’s murder. But so far, President Donald Trump has consistently vetoed or threatened to veto the Senate’s attempts to block arms sales to the kingdom or end U.S. support for the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen’s bloody civil war.

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Saudi Arabia will again come to the forefront Wednesday, when the Senate Foreign Relations Committee holds a hearing on the Trump administration’s use of emergency authority to sell arms to the kingdom. The hearing comes as committee Chairman Jim Risch (R-Idaho) is working on his own bill to hold Saudi Arabia accountable, which could be considered as soon as next week.

Risch, who faces a nearly impossible task of pushing through legislation that’s deemed tough enough on Saudi Arabia but that Trump will sign, has yet to release details of his bill. He said in a brief interview Tuesday that more information will be available “in the next 48 hours” but declined to comment further on amendments.

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