US Republican Senator, Lindsey Graham has expressed skepticism over the shifting Saudi narrative on Jamal Khashoggi's murder and sought accountability of those responsible.
US Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, a close ally of President Donald Trump, said on Sunday he had no doubt about the involvement of Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman in ordering the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
Several members of the US Congress have renewed their calls to condemn Saudi Arabia following an assessment by the CIA that Saudi crown prince Mohammed Bin Salman personally ordered the death of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
South Carolina Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, who is in line to be the next chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, has been one of the most vocal US lawmakers to call for action against those found responsible over Khashoggi's murder and to criticise Saudi Arabia over its constantly shifting narrative.
In an interview to NBC's "Meet the Press," Senator Graham spoke about the alleged involvement of the Saudi Crown Prince in Khashoggi's killing and refused to believe that Mohammed Bin Salman could not have been involved in giving the murder order.
"Clearly this guy's a wrecking ball when it comes to the Mideast and a relationship with the United States, and I hate to say that 'cause I had a lot of hope for him for being the reformer that Saudi Arabia needs. But that ship has sailed as far as Lindsey Graham's concerned," Graham said.
"He is going to be the face and the voice of Saudi Arabia going forward. I think the kingdom will have a hard time on the world stage. They're an important ally, but when it comes to their crown prince, he's irrational, he's unhinged and I think he's done a lot of damage to the relationship between the United States and Saudi Arabia and I have no intention of working with him ever again."
Khashoggi, a Saudi who lived in the United States and often criticised the royal family, was last seeing entering the kingdom's consulate in Istanbul after he went there to get marriage documents on October 2.
Saudi Arabia has repeatedly changed its official narrative of the October 2 murder, first denying any knowledge of Khashoggi's whereabouts and later saying he was killed inside the consulate.
In the latest version presented by the Saudi prosecutor on Thursday, a 15-member squad was formed to bring Khashoggi back from Istanbul "by means of persuasion" — but instead ended up killing the journalist and dismembering his body in a "rogue" operation.
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