Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) is calling for an investigation into Trump’s claim that “rogue killers” may have been behind the murder of missing journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
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Chris Van Hollen said on MSNBC’s Deadline: White House:
From the very start, president trump and Jared Kushner have put all their eggs in the Saudi regime’s basket. Now all of that is falling apart which is why they’re probably desperate to come up with another story as well. It’s really important that Congress on a bipartisan basis get the administration down here. Bring the intelligence agencies down to capitol hill and make sure that they are telling us the truth, not providing us with the Saudi regime’s cover story. So far, we have had a strong bipartisan condemnation of what the Saudis appear to have done here.
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And hopefully we will keep that bipartisan coalition together. And the real concern here is that Republicans somehow, you know, take the president at his word as part of this cover-up. But I don’t think it’s going to happen in this instance because that would undermine the credibility of the United States government. If we’re seen at participating in a total whitewash of this heinous crime.
CNN is reporting that the Saudis are preparing a report that will acknowledge the murder of Khashoggi during an interrogation that went wrong, but if the Saudis acknowledge that they murdered the missing journalist, it should only be more cause for an investigation into what the US intelligence community knew, what they told Trump, and where Trump is getting his information.
Trump has been in the back pocket of the Saudi royal family for decades, but he can’t be allowed to whitewash the murder of a resident of the United States. With the midterm election just a few weeks away, an investigation may be coming no matter what. The only question is will it be a bipartisan investigation, or will Democrats have to win all or part of Congress and then do it themselves.
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Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
