Psaki Pressed On Holding Saudi Arabia Accountable For Murder Of Journalist

On Sunday, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki appeared on CNN’s State of the Union and was pressed on the Biden administration’s actions towards Saudi Arabia in light of recent revelations regarding the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

According to CNN, the Biden administration released a declassified intelligence report on Friday that detailed the murder of Khashoggi and the direct correlation between the crown prince and the killing.

CNN reported:

The report from the director of national intelligence says the crown prince, known as MBS, directly approved the killing of Khashoggi. But while a sanctions list from the Treasury Department listed a former deputy intelligence chief and the Saudi Royal Guard’s rapid intervention force, the crown prince wasn’t listed.  

On Sunday, CNN host Dana Bash explained the report’s findings of MBS’s responsibility for the murder of the journalist. She then played a clip of candidate Joe Biden on the campaign trail at a debate in 2020.

He responded to a question about whether or not he would punish senior Saudi leaders, saying, “Yes…I would make it very clear we were not going to, in fact, sell more weapons to them. We were going to, in fact, make them pay the price and make them, in fact, the pariah that they are…They have to be held accountable.”

Bash pressed Psaki on Biden’s actions since becoming president, saying that he has not imposed a travel ban, asset freeze, or criminal charges. Most importantly, the host added, Biden has not placed any “sanctions directly on the crown prince himself.” Bash asked Psaki, “Why not?”

Psaki said that the administration has been “crystal clear at every level from the president on down” since the first day, saying that they are going to “recalibrate this relationship and turn the page from the last four years.”

Psaki listed ways that the administration plans to do so, including “ending our support for the war in Yemen, doing more to address the humanitarian crisis, and ensuring that we are holding to account the actions, the human rights abuses of this government, by word and by action.”

Bash asked if punishing the people underneath the crown prince is “like punishing the hit man and not the mob boss who actually put out the hit?”

Psaki answered, “Well, first, Dana, historically, and even in recent history, Democratic and Republican administrations, there have not been sanctions put in place for the leaders of foreign governments where we have diplomatic relations and even where we don’t have diplomatic relations.”

“And we believe there is more effective ways to make sure this doesn’t happen again and to also be able to leave room to work with the Saudis on areas where there is mutual agreement, where there is interests, national interests, for the United States. That is what diplomacy looks like. That is what the complicated global engagement looks like,” Psaki continued.

Bash pressed Psaki later on, saying, “you say hold them accountable, and it just doesn’t look like that when it comes to the notion of justice.” Bash asked if Psaki felt that justice has been done in this specific situation.

Psaki answered, “Well, this is a horrific crime, and the president has said that himself. I will reiterate that here today.”

“One of the reasons the State Department put in place what we’re calling the Khashoggi rule is because we believe that anyone who threatens journalists, who threatens dissidents should be held to account and shouldn’t — and should have their — potentially have their travel visas revoked. That’s a global issue and one we took action on, on Friday,” Psaki continued.

Psaki added that “it needs to be clear that our relationship with Saudi Arabia is one that is in the interest of the United States to maintain, while still being clear it will be recalibrated. We are going to hold them accountable for human rights abuses, and we are going to take actions, including the actions announced by the State Department and the Treasury Department on Friday.”

On Saturday, The Daily Wire reported “Biden would not punish MBS because he was ‘fearing’ what the consequences would be if he did so.”

A full transcript of CNN’s State of the Union interview can be found here.

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