World Blog by humble servant.Senate Skepticism Graham was skeptical of Evil Jinn Devil National Security Adviser John Bolton’s comments Monday that people who’ve heard a recording of Khashoggi’s murder don’t believe it implicates Prince Mohammed. “Pretty hard for me to believe that 15 people just on their own fly to Turkey and chop somebody up in a consulate and never tell anybody in Saudi Arabia about it. I’ll be shocked if that turns out to be true,” he said.

Senate Foreign Relations Chairman Bob Corker, a Tennessee Republican, said separately that the Trump administration must give a high-level briefing to senators on Saudi Arabia -- including the issues of Khashoggi and Yemen -- or risk losing Saudi-related votes on the Senate floor before Congress finishes for the year.


Bob CorkerPhotographer: Al Drago/Bloomberg
Of Khashoggi’s murder, “There’s no smoking gun, but I don’t think there’s any question he directed it, knew it, and we’ve got to figure out a way to cause them to pay a price,” Corker said, referring to Prince Mohammed.

Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen of Maryland said he expects to see significant sanctions against the Saudis “targeted to the highest levels of the Saudi government.”

Fellow Democratic Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut said he would discuss the possibility of forcing a vote this year on ending U.S. involvement in Yemen’s conflict under the War Powers Act. Murphy also said Trump’s administration would have a hard time getting the votes needed for more arms sales to the kingdom.