US Congress compels spy chiefs to reveal identity of Khashoggi killers

Lawmakers in the US have approved a bill which will force the country’s top intelligence official to submit a detailed report on the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi when President Donald Trump signs off on the coming year’s defence budget.

Senators voted 86 to 8 in favour of the bill, which barring an unforeseen loophole, would for the first time formally establish what the US knows about the slaying.

Investigators at the CIA have already privately concluded that Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) was responsible for the killing of the dissident in Istanbul in October 2018 but Trump has so far shied away from endorsing that conclusion - even contradicting it at times.

In late 2018, the CIA said it had "medium-to-high confidence" that MBS "personally targeted" Khashoggi, and "probably ordered his death”.

Once signed, the US Director of National Intelligence will have 30 days to submit a report detailing who the US intelligence community believes was involved in the killing of Khashoggi - a resident of the US state of Virginia.

Saudi ties with the US have historically been strong but after an initial honeymoon phase, the ascent of MBS has put a heavy strain on the relationship.

The killing of Khashoggi shattered the image of an enlightened progressive MBS had marketed of himself prior to October 2018. The young royal has instead cemented a reputation for erratic foreign policy adventures and ruthless intolerance of dissidents.

After the Khashoggi affair, attention also turned to Saudi Arabia’s military foray into Yemen, where more than 100,000 people have died - many due to airstrikes carried about by Saudi forces using US-made weaponry.

US lawmakers have voted to end Washington’s support for Saudi Arabia’s military intervention in the country but have been repeatedly overruled by Trump.

The US president has repeatedly stressed the importance Saudi arms contracts have on the US arms industry and the wider US economy.

“Who are we hurting? It’s 500,000 jobs,” Trump told US reporters when asked about withholding weapons sales to the kingdom.