Joe Biden’s nominee for director of national intelligence has promised to release a US report on who was responsible for the assassination of Saudi critic Jamal Khashoggi, a decision that could embarrass the kingdom’s crown prince and damage his relationship with his main ally.
Avril Haines, who would be the first woman in the country to oversee US intelligence agencies, made the promise to her confirmation hearing on Tuesday. Congress demanded that the national intelligence director release a non-confidential report to lawmakers on the murder, but the Trump administration did not.
A year later, Khashoggi Murder still launches Pall over Saudi Arabia
Khashoggi, a Saudi critic living in the United States, was killed and quartered by Saudi agents at the kingdom’s consulate in Istanbul in 2018, causing global protests. Saudi officials have denied that the prince played any role, saying the murder was committed by dishonest agents who were prosecuted. US President Donald Trump, citing national interests, such as the arms trade that he said replaced the murder, expressed support for Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia.
But the case became a persistent pressure point in Congress, and Biden, who will take office as president on Wednesday, said he would treat Saudi Arabia as an “outcast”.
The report, if it criticizes the prince, could further damage relations with the United States and will be released at a time when he faces domestic challenges, including a faltering economy and discontent within the real family.
Releasing the report would be “an effort by the Biden government to bring Trump’s long-neglected human rights issues back to the pillars of US foreign policy,” said Ayham Kamel, head of the Middle East and North Africa at Eurasia consultancy. Group. “I don’t see this as a direct effort to sabotage the US-Saudi Arabia relationship, but it will certainly create some challenges.”
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The prince also faces two lawsuits in the United States that may cause embarrassment, including one related to his alleged role in Khashoggi’s death.
The outrage caused by the assassination initially threatened to derail the prince’s economic transformation plan to diversify oil, scaring foreign investors and damaging the kingdom’s reputation abroad. But the furor gradually subsided and many businessmen who canceled performances in Saudi Arabia at the time returned.
Although “much depended on the details of the report”, Prince Mohammed would be sensitive to any reopening of the Khashoggi archives, which “shifts the focus of his investment and modernization plans,” said Kamel.