Senate Drive to Punish Saudi Prince Over Khashoggi Death Delayed

(Bloomberg) -- A bipartisan drive in the U.S. Senate to approve tough sanctions on Saudi Arabia for the murder of columnist Jamal Khashoggi will slip into next year, as members struggle to agree on a response to the killing they said was ordered by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Senate Foreign Relations Chairman Bob Corker and the panel’s top Democrat, Senator Bob Menendez, said they were unable to resolve some details of a proposal to ban arms sales to Saudi Arabia and punish anyone involved in Khashoggi’s killing by freezing their assets and restricting their travel.

Corker said the most likely Senate response to the killing will be a non-binding resolution declaring the crown prince responsible for the murder, along with a war powers resolution under consideration in the chamber this week that would restrict U.S. support for a Saudi-led military campaign in Yemen.

“I hope it’s something that will be massively supported in the Senate,” Corker said regarding the resolution targeting the crown prince’s alleged role. “I think it will be.”

The development underscores the difficulty lawmakers face in trying to send a strong signal about the killing after President Donald Trump sought to play down assertions that Prince Mohammed was responsible for Khashoggi’s murder at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.

Senators last week received a classified briefing from CIA Director Gina Haspel that they said left no doubt in their minds that the crown prince played a role in Khashoggi’s killing and dismemberment.

Corker of Tennessee, who is retiring at the end of the year, said he hopes the House will take up the non-binding resolution by the end of this year if it’s backed by a large majority of the Senate.

Yemen Measure

The House doesn’t plan to consider the Yemen war powers measure, leaving the non-binding resolution as the only likely statement of congressional sentiment before a new session of Congress starts in January.

The negotiations have been complicated by the fact that under Senate rules, the Yemen resolution might be subject to a chaotic debate with numerous competing amendments. Senator Chris Murphy, a Connecticut Democrat and the lead sponsor, said Senate passage of that resolution this week could by itself send a strong message to the Saudi government.

“I think that the resolution itself is a sufficient answer to the Khashoggi scandal because this is the most important foreign policy priority of MBS,” Murphy said, referring to Prince Mohammed. “For the United States to pull out of this coalition is a pretty significant hit to MBS and the regime.”

Corker said his dispute with Menendez over sanctions hinged on a proposed ban on U.S. arms sales to the Saudis. The bill would enact the ban for two years, while Corker said he wanted to limit that to one year so the policy could change if relations with the Saudi government improved.

Menendez of New Jersey said Corker’s ideas would water down the sanctions.

“The chairman wants to make amendments to it that I feel will significantly detract from the sanctions,” Menendez said. “That’s a problem.” He said he won’t give up if the legislation is put off until the new session of Congress.

“If we don’t get it through this year we’re definitely coming back at it,” Menendez said.

--With assistance from Steven T. Dennis.

To contact the reporters on this story: Laura Litvan in Washington at llitvan@bloomberg.net;Daniel Flatley in Washington at dflatley1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Joe Sobczyk at jsobczyk@bloomberg.net, Laurie Asséo, John Harney

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