Lloyd Doggett Leads Lawmakers in Calling for Sanctions on Saudi Arabia

More than 40 lawmakers, led by San Antonio-Austin U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett, sent a letter urging President Trump to impose sanctions on Saudi Arabia over the death of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

The letter calls for sanctions under the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act, requires presidents to decide within 120 days whether to impose sanctions requested by Congress. Doggett and the other lawmakers also requested an end to U.S. support for Saudi Arabia’s military action in Yemen.

“With President Trump shamefully equivocating in the face of mounting evidence of Saudi slaughter, Congress must act,” said Doggett, a Democrat. "The next step is probably to expel the Saudi ambassador and suspend weapons sales."

More than two weeks after Khashoggi, a Washington Post columnist, disappeared while visiting the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Trump has appeared unwilling to call out the Saudi government. It took the president until Thursday to say he believes Khashoggi is dead, even as Turkish officials say they have recordings of his torture and murder.

The Trump administration built much of its Middle East foreign policy around forging a strong relationship with the Saudi government, and the president's son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner has a close personal relationship with the country's Crown Prince Mohammed.

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