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.

Biden exhibits no regrets in excess of fist bump with MBS: 'Happy to answer a issue that matters'

Daniel Chaitin

July 17, 01:26 AM July 17, 01:28 AM

President Joe Biden dismissed his controversial fist bump with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to start off his excursion to Saudi Arabia as an inconsequential gesture.

Reporters greeted Biden on the South Garden of the White House shortly soon after midnight Sunday morning, marking an conclusion of his return journey from his very first Middle East tour as president. Just one requested Biden no matter whether he regretted the fist bump, which drew prevalent condemnation, even just after the White Residence had said Biden would not shake hands when meeting with leaders in the Middle East because of to COVID-19 pitfalls.

"Why don't you guys talk about one thing that issues? I'm happy to respond to a dilemma that issues," Biden said in reply.

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Biden drew controversy when he greeted Bin Salman, also recognized as MBS, on Friday with a fist bump that was caught on digicam upon his arrival at Al Salman Palace, in Jeddah. He laughed when a reporter mentioned he had come "under a whole lot of hearth" for it when taking concerns soon after his assembly with MBS. But even allies knocked him for the gesture. "If ever we required a visual reminder of the continuing grip oil-loaded autocrats have on U.S. international coverage in the Middle East, we obtained it today," tweeted Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA). "A person fist bump is value a thousand terms."

In distinct, Biden was less than powerful scrutiny in excess of no matter if he would push MBS on the 2018 murder of Jamal Khashoggi, a United States resident and columnist for the Washington Article, at Saudi Arabia's consulate in Istanbul. A U.S. intelligence report found MBS accredited the operation, but Saudi officials have denied MBS had any part in the assassination.

Biden claims he confronted the de facto Saudi ruler about Khashoggi for the duration of their conference. Having said that, Saudi officers assert MBS confronted Biden about abuse of prisoners at Iraq's Abu Ghraib jail by U.S. military staff and the U.S. response to the killing of Palestinian American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh in the occupied West Lender, in accordance to CNN.

Biden responded with a flat "no" when requested on his return to the White Household whether the Saudi international minister was telling the reality when he claimed to not have listened to the president accuse the crown prince of Khashoggi's murder. Biden also said he is "hoping" inflation will go down, and when asked if he would honor his marketing campaign pledge to launch all of the cannabis inmates in jail, Biden claimed he does not think "anyone need to be in jail for the use of cannabis."

Bumpy journey: Biden faces criticism in aftermath of assembly with Saudi leaders

Katherine Doyle

July 16, 06:00 AM July 16, 06:00 AM

JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia — Soon after months of organizing, President Joe Biden’s vacation to satisfy with Saudi leaders may possibly have been symbolized by a fist bump.

Days earlier, the White Home had said Biden would not shake arms when meeting with leaders in the Center East thanks to COVID-19 threats. But a lot of observers imagined the president was seeking to keep away from currently being photographed shaking arms with Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, a chief accused of getting Saudi-American blood on his hands.

The fist bump did not fulfill all people who believes "MBS," as he is commonly named, is liable for the murder of former Washington Publish journalist Jamal Khashoggi. “The fist bump between President Biden and Mohammed bin Salman was worse than a handshake — it was shameful,” Washington Put up publisher and CEO Fred Ryan reported in a assertion afterward. “It projected a level of intimacy and consolation that delivers to MBS the unwarranted redemption he has been desperately trying to get.”

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"If ever we necessary a visual reminder of the continuing grip oil-wealthy autocrats have on U.S. international coverage in the Middle East, we bought it these days," tweeted Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA). "One fist bump is truly worth a thousand terms."

In the course of a pool spray prior to Biden fulfilled with Saudi leaders, a reporter shouted, “Jamal Khashoggi, will you apologize to his relatives?" One more requested, "Is Saudi Arabia even now a pariah?" The latter question referred to Biden’s alternative of terms when he vowed through the 2020 marketing campaign to isolate the kingdom more than Khashoggi’s murder. Saudi officials appeared uncomfortable with the reporters’ inquiries.

Following the assembly, Biden was asked if he regretted calling the Saudis "pariahs" in the initial place. “I really do not regret just about anything I mentioned,” the president responded. “Next query.” Biden later included, “What took place to Khashoggi was outrageous.”

Confronted with a problem about the fist bump, Biden laughed. "God enjoy you, what a silly question," he stated.

Biden arrived going through challenging dynamics that stood in stark distinction to the warm embrace he gained from officers in Israel. At stake was the risk for Saudi Arabia to boost its oil output, easing political force on Biden, and a human rights mandate that he has held up as a issue of theory.

The journey emerged “as a strategic selection the president produced to make sure that the United States was firmly planting its flag in this location for the prolonged time period,” White Household national stability adviser Jake Sullivan stated aboard Air Force One particular on Friday. “The Middle East stays a strategically important region.”

Biden immediately experienced issues abiding by the White House's stated no-handshake rule. The president was noticed shaking arms with opposition leader and previous Israeli Primary Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He was once more found shaking arms while conference Israeli officers through a defense ministry briefing on Iron Dome and Iron Beam technology.

In the days primary up to the journey, Biden was observed shaking hands with congressional leaders on the White House South Lawn. The crown prince fist bump seemed unavoidable.

Upcoming, Biden will go to a Gulf Cooperation Council summit of regional oil producers, and the power discussion will guide the agenda.

But the president was adamant that he kept his determination to human rights, together with holding the crown prince accountable for Khashoggi’s 2018 murder in the Saudi Embassy in Istanbul.

“I elevated it at the major of the assembly, making distinct what I believed of it at the time and what I imagine of it now,” Biden claimed. “He in essence said that he was not personally accountable for it. I indicated that I assumed he was.”

Khashoggi’s widow, who experienced been urgent the White Dwelling on the plight of Saudi political prisoners, thanked him.

“I would like to thank President Biden for raising my partner, Jamal Khashoggi’s murder with the Crown Prince. He elevated it to start with and foremost and for that I am grateful,” Hanan Elatr explained in a statement. “I also would like to thank President Biden for fulfilling Jamal’s accurate legacy, which is to highlight the situation of human rights and political prisoners.”

“This assembly was the beginning of accountability for my husband’s murder,” she included. “Through the American justice technique, I alongside with my legal staff intend to maintain all parties accountable for the murder of my husband."

But Saudi officers took a various tone. “We noticed what took place to the assessment of Saddam Hussein having nuclear weapons,” Adel al Jubeir, the Saudi minister of condition for overseas affairs, stated in a briefing for reporters at the Jeddah InterContinental lodge. “Did George Bush direct men and women to torture people at Abu Ghraib? No, he didn’t. This happens. Errors materialize.”

“There’s almost nothing to agree or disagree with. It was resolved,” al Jubeir mentioned of the Khashoggi discussion amongst the leaders. “It wasn’t a dialogue like you consider it was.”

Biden boasted on Friday that he “got the probability to chat to mainly the overall Saudi government," which he had as soon as explained as owning “very tiny redeeming social value” throughout a Democratic most important debate in 2019.

“And many thanks to numerous months of quiet diplomacy by the staff members, we have attained some substantial business now,” Biden reported.