Senators set to grill US officials over Khashoggi response

Senators who have grown increasingly uneasy with the US response to Saudi Arabia after the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi are set to grill top administration officials Wednesday at a closed-door briefing that could determine how far Congress goes in punishing the longtime Middle East ally.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says "some kind of response" is needed from the United States for the Saudis' role in the gruesome death. While President Donald Trump has equivocated over who is to blame, the Senate is considering a vote as soon as this week to halt US involvement in the Saudi-led war in Yemen.

"What obviously happened, as basically certified by the CIA, is completely abhorrent to everything the United States holds dear and stands for in the world," McConnell said Tuesday.

"We're discussing what the appropriate response would be." Much will depend on what senators hear from Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

Administration officials were able to stall a Senate effort earlier this year against the Saudi-backed conflict in Yemen. But senators are outraged over the administration's response to Khashoggi's killing, and they're particularly upset that no one from the intelligence community is attending Wednesday's briefing.

Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, one of 10 Democrats who declined to join the earlier effort against the Saudis, said Tuesday he was reconsidering his position.

"Things changed," Manchin said. "The whole thing with Khashoggi is very much concerning. It's not who we are as a country. It's not who we should have as allies and not condemn that."
"My sense is, unless something happens where they share what it is they're going to do to deal with this injustice that has occurred my sense is that people are going to vote to get on the bill."
"If you don't draw the line here, where do you draw the line?" Graham asked reporters Tuesday. He, too, supports blocking the arms sale and said giving the crown prince "a pass on murdering a critic doesn't make the world a safer place."