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By Kailani Koenig
WASHINGTON – Republican Senator Lindsey Graham severely condemned Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Sunday for his alleged role in the assassination of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
"It's impossible for me to believe that he does not know anything about it," Graham said at "Meet The Press". The senator from South Carolina stated that he had not yet received an official briefing on the subject, but that the conclusion that the Crown Prince had played a role in the killing of Khashoggi should be clear to anyone with knowledge. from the country.
"If he wants to be the face of Saudi Arabia in the future, I think the kingdom will have difficulties on the world stage," added Graham Graham. "He's an important ally, but when it comes to the Crown Prince, he's irrational, he's out of order, and I think he's been a big detriment to relations between the United States and Saudi Arabia and working with him never again. "
NBC News reported Friday that the CIA had concluded that the Crown Prince himself had ordered the assassination.
The United States announced this week sanctions against 17 Saudi officials for the murder of Khashoggi at the Saudi Arabian consulate in Istanbul, Turkey.
Graham said that he did not want to let the perpetrators of this assassination become "the type in the fall," but rather, "I will do everything I can to blame where I believe it is: I am going to put this at the feet of the Crown Prince who has been a destructive force in the Middle East. "
The senator said that he had previously had much hope for the prince's potential as a reformer in the region, but that "this ship sailed as far as Lindsey Graham is concerned".
Graham's speech on Saudi Arabia contrasts sharply with President Trump, who has repeatedly told Fox News Sunday this weekend that the Crown Prince has always denied any involvement in the incident.
When asked if the prince was lying, Trump replied, "He told me that he had nothing to do with it. He told me that, I would say, maybe five times at different times. "
The president also asked, "Will any one really know? He certainly had people reasonably close and probably involved. "
On Sunday, Graham was asked about the relationship between Crown Prince Trump and Jared Kushner and said, "I will let the President find out how to manage Saudi Arabia from the executive branch. "
"On the side of the legislative branch, we will do everything in our power, as strong as possible, to send a signal to the world," he said. "This is not how we expect an ally to act.What has happened in Turkey violates all the norms of civilized society and will not stand. McCain was alive today, he would be the first to say it. "
Graham also said Saudi Arabia's ambassador to the United States, Crown Prince's brother Prince Khalid Bin Salman, should not be allowed to return to the United States as an ambassador.
Still on "Meet The Press," Graham publicly called on the president to advance the issue of criminal justice reform, asking him to "pick up the phone" and put pressure on Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell , for that he presents his bill.
"Republicans are the problem here, not the Democrats," said Graham.
