Bipartisan duo looks to force Biden's hand on US-Saudi relations

David Sivak

March 24, 05:10 AM March 24, 05:11 AM

A bipartisan pair of senators is trying to force President Joe Biden's administration to reevaluate its relationship with Saudi Arabia with new legislation targeting the human rights record of the oil-rich Middle Eastern ally.

Sens. Chris Murphy (D-CT) and Mike Lee (R-UT) introduced a privileged resolution this month that would require the State Department to submit to Congress a report on Saudi Arabia’s human rights abuses within 30 days. If the administration failed to do so, security aid to the kingdom would be cut off.

The bill is a novel approach to the debate on Washington’s alliance with Saudi Arabia, which Murphy says is not a reliable partner and often works against U.S. national security interests.

The senators, usually ideological foes on Senate legislation, are utilizing a never-before-used provision of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, which would fast-track consideration of the resolution. Under the law, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee would have 10 days to consider the measure before Murphy and Lee can force a floor vote to discharge it from the committee.

Although those 10 days have now passed — the resolution was introduced on March 15 — Murphy says he’s letting the process play out in committee before deciding whether to request a vote.

“We're talking to the committee about their disposition,” he told the Washington Examiner on March 22. “You know, we have the right to bring it before the Senate after 10 days, but the committee can still work on it, you know, after the 10-day period of time.”

Murphy has for years railed against Saudi Arabia for backing the neighboring Yemeni government in a civil war that has killed thousands of civilians. He and Lee say the United States is complicit in those deaths due to its military assistance to the Saudis.

The complaints are a common refrain among Democrats, who argue America’s strategic partnership with the kingdom (which seeks to counter Iranian influence in the region) undermines America’s commitment to advance human rights abroad.

Those concerns reached a fever pitch in 2018 after the gruesome killing of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi, believed to be ordered by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Biden channeled Democratic outrage on the campaign trail, promising to make the kingdom a "pariah." But the president has sought to improve relations with the oil-producing country after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which sent already-high gas prices soaring.

Biden made a trip to Saudi Arabia last summer to lobby for higher oil production by OPEC+. Yet the diplomatic overtures ended after the cartel, led by the Saudis, announced in October it would cut output by 2 million barrels a day, a move that came weeks before the midterm elections.

The White House accused the Saudis of aiding Russia’s war effort by driving up oil revenues and promised to work with Congress to reevaluate America's relationship with the kingdom in its aftermath. But five months later, Murphy says Biden has failed to live up to that pledge.

“The administration has made several public statements about reorienting Saudi policy. I'm disappointed we haven't seen that reorientation,” Murphy said. “And I think it's time for Congress to have a discussion about whether we're going to continue business as usual with a country that doesn't seem too interested in acting like our national security matters to them.”

The senator told the Washington Examiner the Biden administration has consulted with Congress on the topic, including multiple conversations with Murphy himself, but that the dialogue has yet to produce a change in strategy.

“They are very aware of my belief that our policy should have changed,” he said. “But I'll let them speak for themselves as to why they generally kept things on a steady track notwithstanding all of the bad behavior we're seeing every day.”

In addition to requiring an account of Saudi Arabia’s human rights violations, including its crackdown on political dissidents, Murphy and Lee's resolution would require the administration to detail how the U.S. has responded to those abuses and evaluate whether continued military assistance is warranted.

After the report is submitted, Congress would then have the right to pass a joint resolution, privileged at a 50-vote threshold, ending or paring back U.S. military support for the kingdom. To become law, it would have to be signed by the president.

The Biden administration only allows defensive weapons to be sold to Saudi Arabia, and in 2021, it imposed sanctions and visa bans on Saudi agents whom it believes perpetrated the slaying of Khashoggi, penalties that notably exempted the crown prince. Yet Murphy believes the actions are not enough, and he has called for the Biden administration to “right-size” its relationship with Saudi Arabia, a shift that would include a freeze on all new military aid to the kingdom.

It’s a move that Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ), the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, himself called for in response to the oil cuts in October.

Yet it’s not clear whether the resolution will get taken up by his panel. “I haven’t seen it,” Menendez told the Washington Examiner. “I’m not sure whether or not it'll get a hearing in the committee.”

Asked about the timing of the measure, Murphy hinted that recent positive developments in the U.S.-Saudi relationship, such as last week’s release of a dual national imprisoned for tweets critical of the crown prince, may delay its consideration. Murphy does not expect it to come before the Senate before the April 3 recess.

This is not the first time Murphy has partnered with Lee, a constitutional conservative who says the president does not have the authority to insert the U.S. into Yemen’s civil war.

In 2019, the pair sponsored legislation to end America’s involvement in the conflict that made it all the way to the White House. Then-President Donald Trump, who stood by the crown prince despite Khashoggi's death, vetoed the resolution, saying it was an “unnecessary, dangerous attempt” to weaken the office of the president.

Angelina Jolie steps down as special envoy to United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees

Julia Johnson

December 16, 02:17 PM December 16, 02:17 PM

Angelina Jolie is stepping aside from her role of more than 20 years as the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees's special envoy "to engage on a broader set of humanitarian and human rights issues."

In a joint statement on Friday, Jolie and the UNHCR made the announcement.

“I am grateful for the privilege and opportunity I have had to work with so many outstanding and dedicated UNHCR field officers and other colleagues doing lifesaving work globally, and to serve as Special Envoy. I will continue to do everything in my power in the years to come to support refugees and other displaced people," the actress said. "After 20 years working within the UN system I feel it is time for me to work differently, engaging directly with refugees and local organisations, and supporting their advocacy for solutions."

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“Angelina Jolie has been an important humanitarian partner of UNHCR for very long. We are grateful for her decades of service, her commitment, and the difference she has made for refugees and people forced to flee," U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi said. "After a long and successful time with UNHCR, I appreciate her desire to shift her engagement and support her decision. I know the refugee cause will remain close to her heart, and I am certain she will bring the same passion and attention to a wider humanitarian portfolio. I look forward to our continued friendship.”

"Ms. Jolie will continue to work to build a more equal, just and inclusive international system," the UNHCR said in the statement.

Recently, the actress took a trip to Capitol Hill and the White House in Washington, D.C., where she consulted with senators regarding the reauthorization of the Patrick Leahy and Orrin G. Hatch Justice for All Act.

"Currently, there’s no method within the federal government that provides crime victims with a right of access to their own records of crimes they experienced and reported,” she said of the reason for her visit.

She was seen meeting with Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT), and Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY). She further met with the White House Gender Policy Council, according to reports.

Biden administration slammed for shielding Saudi leader from prosecution

Katherine Doyle

November 19, 07:00 AM November 19, 07:01 AM

A legal case brought against Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia over the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi has stirred controversy after the Biden administration moved to shield the kingdom’s de facto leader from prosecution.

As the sitting head of government, the crown prince should be immune from the suit, the United States said in a late Thursday court filing, just before a deadline for the Justice Department to weigh in. “Mohammed bin Salman, the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, is the sitting head of government and, accordingly, is immune from this suit,” the filing reads.

The decision “was in keeping with long-standing, not only policy but long-standing international law,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said. President Joe Biden was aware of the legal process and decision in the case, Kirby added.

“It’s nothing to do with the merits of this case,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters Friday. “The United States consistently has afforded head of state immunity to heads of governments.”

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Biden “has been very, very clear and very vocally so about the brutal, barbaric murder of Mr. Khashoggi,” Kirby said.

The crown prince denies the allegations and has sought immunity from prosecution, but his royal position would not legally entitle him to sovereign immunity, which is reserved for heads of state.

The crown prince was elevated to prime minister days before a deadline in the case for a ruling from the Justice Department and the State Department on whether he could be held accountable for the murder. The government’s position is nonbinding, leaving the ultimate decision to the court. The Biden administration did not have to weigh in with an opinion.

Kirby referred to the State Department questions about whether the U.S. consulted with Saudi Arabia in the weeks before the crown prince took the new title. King Salman, the crown prince's aged father, in September temporarily awarded his title of prime minister to the crown prince, a post usually reserved for the king.

Human rights advocates lashed out at the administration over the decision, charging that it could open the door to future abuses.

“The Biden administration just put the final nail in the coffin for any accountability and opened the gate for [the crown prince] to conduct more Khashoggi-like operations,” said Abdullah Alaoudh, research director for the Gulf at Democracy for the Arab World Now, a group affiliated with Khashoggi, and the son of imprisoned Saudi scholar Salman al Odah.

During an appearance on MSNBC Friday, Washington Post columnist David Ignatius said Biden had gone further than former President Donald Trump in meeting Saudi demands.

“The Trump administration, for all of its embrace of [the crown prince], never gave him the immunity he wanted,” Ignatius said. “He has been seeking immunity since 2020, 2021. The Trump administration left office without acting on that request.”

He added, “It's disturbing that the Biden administration ends up doing what Donald Trump himself wouldn't do.”

The Biden administration published an intelligence report in 2021 that claimed the crown prince was responsible for Khashoggi’s murder and recommended sanctions and travel bans on Saudi officials but did not directly target the crown prince. A request earlier this year by the bipartisan Public Interest Declassification Board advised the president to release the complete report into the journalist’s killing.

Biden has faced criticism for sitting down with the crown prince after promising on the campaign trail to take a hard line against the “pariah” kingdom over Khashoggi’s murder. The president said he confronted the crown prince over the killing during a meeting in Jeddah this summer, angering the royal, according to reports.

During a briefing with reporters this summer, a top Saudi official bristled at the suggestion that the crown prince could face legal liability in the U.S. over the killing and questioned the findings by U.S. intelligence.

“Sometimes assessments are not accurate. We saw what happened to the assessment of Saddam Hussein having nuclear weapons,” said Adel al Jubeir, the Saudi minister of state for foreign affairs. “When Oliver North was sending money, raising money, and giving it to the contras, did Ronald Reagan know about it? No.”

The relationship has grown increasingly tense in recent months with clashes over energy policy.

Following a decision by OPEC+ to cut oil production, Biden promised to unleash “consequences” against the kingdom, and the White House said it was conducting a review of U.S.-Saudi ties. It had urged the kingdom to increase oil production to ward off the threat of higher gas prices heading into the winter months.

At a meeting of G-20 leaders this week, Biden attended a social luncheon that included the crown prince.

Kirby said Friday that the review, which Biden believes is “warranted and necessary,” is now underway.

“We want to make sure that whatever this bilateral relationship looks like going forward, it’s in our best interest,” Kirby told reporters on Friday. No timeline has been announced.