WASHINGTON, D.C. Dec. 23, 2019 – Today, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, released the following statement in response to the announcement by Saudi Arabia’s public prosecutor that five people have been sentenced to death in connection to the killing of U.S. resident and journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
“The death sentence handed down by a secretive Saudi Arabian court against unnamed defendants for the murder of Jamal Khashoggi is a continuation of the Kingdom’s effort to distance Saudi leadership, including the Crown Prince and his top advisors, from the brutal assassination of a journalist and U.S. resident. The suggestion that this was a rogue operation or a snap decision is contradicted by the evidence and commonsense.
“The Intelligence Authorization Act, which was signed into law last week, includes a provision I authored requiring the Director of National Intelligence to provide a report to Congress within 30 days about current or former Saudi officials who played a role in or had advanced knowledge of Khashoggi’s murder, and requires the names to be provided in an unclassified format unless it would reveal sources and methods.
“We will insist on the completion of that report, and continue to fight for real accountability for those who authorized and carried out the premeditated murder of Jamal Khashoggi. And we will work to ensure that the voices of the Kingdom’s real reformers are not silenced by a brutal Saudi regime that inexplicably enjoys President Trump’s unflinching support.”