Wyden: No “Reset” with Saudi Arabia Without Justice for Victims of Mohammed bin Salman’s Violence
President Biden must insist on accountability for murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi and killing of Portland’s Fallon Smart
Washington, D.C. – Amid reports that President Biden is seeking to “reset” relations with Saudi Arabia, Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., a senior member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, urged President Biden to insist on accountability for those responsible for the brutal murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi and the killing of Portland’s Fallon Smart and other victims of Saudi citizens who have fled U.S. justice.
“The United States cannot value Saudi oil more highly than the blood of Fallon Smart and Jamal Khashoggi. America does not become more secure by legitimizing authoritarians like Mohammed bin Salman, who has protected perpetrators of violence against Americans and manipulated oil markets to gouge American consumers. Embracing MBS only makes our people more vulnerable to the whims of tyrants, who will always place their unfettered power above international rule of law or American justice,” Wyden said.
Wyden has long urged the United States to rethink its policy toward Saudi Arabia, and led Congressional efforts to declassify the facts about Jamal Khashoggi’s murder. Wyden also successfully pressed the executive branch to release classified information confirming that the Saudi government helped its citizens flee the United States after being charged with violent crimes, including the manslaughter of Portland teenager Fallon Smart.
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