Joe Biden’s nomination for national intelligence director has pledged to release an American report on who was responsible for the assassination of Saudi critic Jamal Khashoggi, a decision that could embarrass the heir to the kingdom and strengthen his relationship with the ally its key.
Avril Haines, the nation’s first woman to oversee US intelligence, made a promise confirmation hearing on Tuesday. Congress has asked the national intelligence director to release an unclassified report to lawmakers on the crime, but the Trump administration has failed.
A year later, Khashoggi Murder threw Saudi Arabia
Khashoggi, an Saudi critic who lived in the United States, was killed and dismembered by Saudi agents at the kingdom’s consulate in Istanbul in 2018, causing a worldwide outcry. Saudi officials have denied that the prince played any role, saying the crime was committed by rogue agents who were prosecuted. US President Donald Trump quoting national interests, such as arms deals, which he said replaced the killing, have voiced support for Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia.
But the case has become a point of persistent pressure in Congress, and Biden, who is due to be inaugurated as president on Wednesday, said he would treat Saudi Arabia as an “outcast.”
The report, if critical of the prince, could further strain relations with the United States and will be launched at a time when it faces internal challenges, including a hesitant economy and dissatisfaction within The royal family.
The release of the report would be “an effort by the Biden administration to bring back human rights issues long neglected by Trump into the pillars of US foreign policy,” said Ayham Kamel, head of the Middle East and North Africa at Eurasia Group. “I don’t see this as a direct effort to sabotage the US-Saudi relationship, but it will certainly create some challenges.”
The US is weighing in on Saudi immunity in the case of an assassination plot
The prince is also facing two trials in the US that could cause embarrassment, including one related to his alleged role in killing Khashoggi.
The murder riot initially threatened to derail the prince’s economic transformation plan to diversify from oil, frightening foreign investors and damaging the kingdom’s reputation abroad. But the anger gradually faded and many businessmen who canceled appearances in Saudi Arabia at the time returned.
While “much will depend on the details of the report,” Prince Mohammed would be sensitive to any reopening of Khashoggi’s files, which “diverts attention from his investment and modernization plans,” Kamel said.