Lindsey Graham say he now understands why CIA Director Gina Haspel wanted a smaller briefing with Senators and didn’t come to the earlier briefing last week.
After the briefing was over, Graham spoke to the press saying that he believes that the Saudi Crown Prince is complicit in the murder of Khashoggi:
Sen. Lindsey Graham says Saudi Arabia’s crown prince is a “wrecking ball” and is “complicit in the murder” of Khashoggi to the “highest level possible.”
“Saudi Arabia is a strategic ally and the relationship is worth saving, but not at all costs,” he adds https://t.co/iZZbpgzx7c pic.twitter.com/tEJ6ja8Mup
— ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) December 4, 2018
Graham pointed out that he went into the briefing believing that the Crown Prince was complicit and came out with a “high confidence” that his initial assessment was correct.
Further, as you can see in the text of the tweet, Graham believes that the relationship we have with Saudi Arabia is worth saving but not at all costs. He said that he believes MBS (Crown Prince) is crazy, dangerous and that if he’s going to control the Saudi government for years to come, Graham said it will be difficult to do business with the country. Which means, he adds, that he will not support arms sales to Saudi Arabia nor the war in Yemen as constructed until are involved in the Khashoggi murder are brought to justice.
In a nutshell, he said the Crown Prince has put the relationship at risk.
Graham also spoke to the statement that both Pompeo and Mattis gave last week to the press, saying he believes they are following the lead of the president and that you have to be willfully blind not to see the role MBS played in Khashoggi’s murder:
Sen. Graham says "you have to be willfully blind" not to come to conclusion that Saudi crown prince was "integrally involved" in Khashoggi murder. Pomepo and Mattis aren't drawing this conclusion because admin "doesn't want to go down this road," he adds https://t.co/iZZbpgzx7c pic.twitter.com/YH7U9DCXBs
— ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) December 4, 2018
“I’m going to try and get a sense that the Senate resolution where we all vote and designate MbS as one of the people responsible for the death of Mr. Khashoggi — that he was complicit in the murder,” Graham says, adding he “will not support arm sales" to Saudi Arabia pic.twitter.com/cEJkjtGxXg
— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) December 4, 2018
Graham admits that if Mattis and Pompeo worked for a Democratic administration that he’d be all over them for being in the pocket of Saudi Arabia. But given his respect for them, he says he believes they are being ‘good soldiers’ and are intentionally technical in their statements about this, but not giving the appropriate assessment than he believes is the case.
He makes clear that he believes they aren’t saying MBS is complicit because the administration doesn’t want to go down that road, not because the evidence isn’t there to draw such conclusions.
Watch the clips for more…