US government agencies face dealing to gather Khashoggi documents

Today marks the deadline set by a federal judge for various US government agencies to collect documents pertaining to the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi. The Justice Department, State Department and CIA have been ordered to make these documents public on an as of yet undetermined schedule.

Nearly nine months have passed since the killing, but little information has been publicly produced by US investigations. While the CIA reportedly has evidence establishing MBS’s culpability in the murder case, the White House has been particularly quiet, with President Trump stating that the Saudi relationship is too important to jeopardise.

Despite this, the Senate condemned Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) in December with a bipartisan vote to end US support for Saudi Arabia in the Yemeni Civil War. Nevertheless, previous missed deadlines and inaction towards MBS suggest that the executive branch departments, such as the State and Justice Departments, are unlikely to comply, or may only partially comply, with today’s court ordered deadline.

In the long-term, President Trump could undermine Congressional attempts to distance the US from Saudi Arabia if he fails to condemn MBS. Indeed, the president could be putting the US on a path to remain involved in Yemen, while taking an even more aggressive pro-Saudi, anti-Iranian stance in the Middle East.

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