Al Kipone schreef op 13 februari 2019 14:34:
Congressional Republicans are angry with President Trump for blowing off their demands for a report on Saudi Arabia’s role in the murder of Post contributing columnist Jamal Khashoggi, Politico reports. They say they are going to act — no, really, they mean it this time — to compel the president to supply that report, in accordance with a law requiring him to deliver such an assessment to Congress, now that they’ve solicited it from the administration.
Which raises an interesting question: Just how far are Republicans willing to go in holding Trump accountable for his ongoing protection of the Saudis, anyway? What will they say when House Democrats begin digging into Trump’s finances, to try to determine whether financial motives help explain it?
In an interview, Rep. Adam B. Schiff (D-Calif.), the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, said that Trump’s refusal to issue a report on the murder of Khashoggi underscores
the need to push forward with congressional scrutiny of Trump’s ties to the Saudi regime.
“We have already planned to do a deep dive on Saudi Arabia, and this further underscores the importance of doing so,” Schiff told me.
U.S. intelligence agencies have reportedly concluded that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ordered Khashoggi’s killing. But Trump has repeatedly cast doubt on whether the crown prince was responsible.
In the face of that disconnect, Schiff had previously told this blog that he intends for the Intelligence Committee to do a “deep dive” on the Khashoggi murder, on the president’s response to it, and on the larger questions raised by both. This would entail nailing down what the intelligence community has concluded about the murder, and how firm the basis for that conclusion is.
That, in turn, would give members of Congress a clearer sense of whether Trump is publicly misrepresenting or glossing over what his own intelligence agencies have concluded, to protect the crown prince.
www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/...