President Donald Trump isn’t giving Saudi Arabia “a pass” on the crown prince’s culpability in the slaying journalist Jamal Khashoggi — but needs to tell its leaders “enough is enough,” Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, said Sunday.
In an interview on CNN’s “State of the Union,” Ernst noted the Saudi’s “are such an important ally in the region.”
“I wouldn't say [Trump] is necessarily giving them a pass,” she said of his decision to stand by Saudi Arabia despite a CIA assessment of Crown Prince Mohahammed Salman’s involvement in the slaying.
“However, I think at such a time when it becomes necessary, the president also needs to speak directly to the Saudis and say ‘enough is enough,’” she said. “And if there are indicators coming from those intelligence agencies, he also needs to be involved in some sort of action.”
Ernst also said she’d “tend to be with my colleagues” in demanding congressional action against the Saudis.
“I do think we need to look into this further, and we need to understand where the investigations are leading us,” she said.
“If there are indicators that the prince was involved in this murder, then we need to absolutely consider further action,” she said. “So I would tend to be with my colleagues on this issue, understanding Saudi Arabia’s great strategic importance to us. However, we are also a country that believes in human rights.”
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