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Washington, DC –  House Foreign Affairs Committee Lead Republican Michael McCaul has released the following statement on the now declassified report on the murder of Jamal Khashoggi and the announcement of the new “Khashoggi Ban.”

“The killing of Jamal Khashoggi was an unjust and gruesome crime, and has caused a major setback for the U.S.-Saudi relationship. I have repeatedly said the United States must ensure everyone involved in this appalling crime is held accountable – and that now includes Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, whose role in this murder has been publicly affirmed. I strongly support the administration’s new Khashoggi Ban to sanction those threatening dissidents abroad. I proposed sanctioning Saudi officials for this heinous behavior in an amendment last fall. Saudi Arabia must permanently end intimidation, harassment and violence against journalists and dissidents in order to restore the trust of the United States and the world.”

In an October 2020 committee markup, Mr. McCaul offered an amendment to impose Global Magnitsky sanctions on Saudi government officials found to have conducted activities that constitute forced repatriation, silencing, or killing of dissidents in other countries.

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