The Democratic Senators who signed on the letter are Dick Durbin, Senate Appropriations Committee’s Defense Subcommittee Ranking Member; Patrick Leahy, Senate Appropriations Committee Vice Chairman; Dianne Feinstein, Senate Judiciary Committee Ranking Member; and Bernie Sanders, Senate Budget Committee Ranking Member.
The Senators wrote that at times like this, the US should speak firmly with a united voice that American values are not for sale and that such actions are intolerable in the civilised world.
“Unfortunately, your troubling abandonment of America’s moral standing did not begin with Mr Khashoggi’s murder. You similarly embraced Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, who has murdered his opponents both in Russia and abroad, including on the soil of key NATO allies,” they alleged.
“Mr Putin has interfered in democratic elections and tried to manipulate those in other allied democracies. Yet, you enamoured yourself with Mr Putin, trusting his word over American and allied intelligence and even naively suggesting you would turn over an American diplomat to his henchmen for sham questioning,” the Senators wrote.They said Trump had lavished praise on North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un, saying that he “fell in love” with the man who threatened the US with nuclear war and has enslaved and murdered untold numbers of his own people.
“You have also supported countless other global autocrats, including those from Egypt, China, Turkey, and the Philippines. In some cases you have copied some of their worst behaviours by threatening journalists or encouraging calls for your political opponents to be jailed,” the letter said.
Embracing such leaders, many unelected or elected in dubious circumstance, who actively undermine democratic norms, murder or jail their opponents, or who are afraid of a free press or legitimate elections enables such behaviour while undermining America at home and abroad, the Democratic Senator wrote.
President Trump has said he was “not satisfied” with the response of Riyadh over Khashoggi’s death.The president also said a group of US officials are in Saudi Arabia and another group of investigators in Turkey are trying to gather information on this issue. “I am not satisfied with what I’ve heard,” Trump told reporters at the White House before leaving for an election rally in Texas on Monday.
