US senators demand intel body release Khashoggi info

By Servet Gunerigok

WASHINGTON (AA) - The bipartisan leaders of the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee are demanding that the Trump administration disclose information about the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

In a letter addressed to acting Director of National Intelligence Richard Grenell, Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Richard Burr, a Republican senator, and Democratic Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia requested an unclassified report on Khashoggi's murder as required by a provision in the 2019 National Defense Authorization Act.

The letter, which was sent Monday, was first reported by The Washington Post.

Speaking to CNN, Burr said the letter was "one last effort to jog him" before Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon pushes to use Senate rules to try to force the report's release.

In February, Wyden urged Americans to pressure their Congressional representatives to bring those responsible for Khashoggi’s murder to justice.

Khashoggi, a U.S. resident and columnist for The Washington Post, went missing after entering the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul, Turkey on Oct. 2, 2018.

After initially saying he had left the consulate alive, weeks later, the Saudi administration admitted he was killed there, blaming a rogue group of Saudi operatives.

The CIA reportedly determined with confidence that the Kingdom's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman directed Khashoggi's murder.