Rep. Schiff Rebukes Biden’s Planned Visit to Saudi Arabia: ‘Going Hat in Hand to Someone Who Has Murdered an American Resident Would Not Be on My List’
Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) on Sunday condemned President Joe Biden‘s upcoming trip to Saudi Arabia, telling CBS’ Face the Nation moderator Margaret Brennan that “until Saudi Arabia makes a radical change in terms of human rights, I wouldn’t want anything to do with” the Crown Prince.
NBC News reported on Friday that Biden has postponed planned visits to Israel and Saudi Arabia until July.
“We know the president is preparing to travel to Saudi Arabia this summer. And he’ll meet with the royal family, including potentially Mohammed bin Salman, the Crown Prince, who U.S. Intelligence said issued that order to kill or capture a U.S.-based writer named Jamal Khashoggi,” Brennan said before playing a clip of Schiff saying last February that the president should not meet with the Crown Prince.
“Should the President still go to Saudi Arabia and meet with the Crown Prince?” Brennan asked.
“In my view, no. I wouldn’t go. I wouldn’t shake his hand,” Schiff replied. “This is someone who butchered an American resident, cut him up into pieces in the most terrible and premeditated way. And until Saudi Arabia makes a radical change in terms of its human rights, I wouldn’t want anything to do with him.”
“Now, I understand the degree to which Saudi Arabia controls oil prices. I think that’s a compelling argument for us to wean ourselves off of reliance on foreign oil and on oil more globally, so we don’t have despots and murderers calling the shots,” he continued. “But no, I wouldn’t go and if I had to go to the country for some other reason, I wouldn’t meet with the Crown Prince, I think he should be shunned.”
Schiff went on to say that while every effort should be made to lower oil prices, “going hat-in-hand to someone who’s murdered an American resident would not be on my list.”
“And I would want to see Saudi Arabia lower their oil prices — or increase their production rather — I’d want to see them make changes in their human rights record,” he continued. “I want to see them hold people accountable that were involved in that murder, and in the torture of other detainees before I would extend that kind of dignity to Saudi Arabia or its leadership.”
Watch above, via YouTube (starting at the 5:35-minute mark).
