Biden Vowed to Make the Saudis a 'Pariah.' Then MBS Got Immunity. Jean-Pierre: 'I'm Not Aware' (November 18, 2022)

As a candidate, Joe Biden promised to make Saudi Arabia’s rulers pay for the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. As president, his administration told a federal court that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman could not be sued over it. On Nov. 18, 2022, a reporter wanted to know whether Biden had signed off.

“And just to press this again, though: Was the President at all involved in the State Department’s decision regarding MBS and this Khashoggi case? Was he consulted by State Department officials, Secretary of State, National Security Advisor, anybody else? Was he asked to weigh in?” the reporter asked Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre [1].

“So, look, again, this is — immunity determination is a legal one. That’s what I was laying out earlier,” Jean-Pierre said, according to the official White House transcript. She listed past cases: “And the example is President Aristide — this was Hait- — of Haiti in 1993. President of Zimbabwe — the president of Zimbabwe at the time in 2001. Prime Minister Modi, India, as we all know, in 2014.” [1]

“Right, but I’m asking about presidential involvement,” the reporter said [1].

“I’m — I’m just going to answer. I’m not — I’m not aware of any conversations providing advance notice. And so, I can — I can just say that I am not aware of any of — any advance notice to this particular issue,” she said [1].

The video above shows the exchange at the Nov. 18, 2022, briefing. Quotes are from the official White House transcript, the American Presidency Project and Fox News [1][2][3][4].

”It Was Not Required”

Earlier, Jean-Pierre had laid out the filing. “At the request of a federal district court for U.S. government views on whether Mohammed bin Salman enjoys head of state immunity, the Department of Justice, at the request of the Department of State, informed the court that Prime Minister bin Salman is immune from suit in the U.S. — in U.S. courts while he holds the office of prime minister,” she said [1].

Another reporter pointed out that the administration did not have to weigh in at all. “And then, on the MBS immunity issue, the administration was invited by the court to make a filing in this case, but it was not required to do so. So, why not let the court making its own determination as it relates to MBS’s immunity, particularly at a time when you’re supposedly reevaluating the relationship with Saudi Arabia?” [1]

“So, look — look, again, it’s — a federal court requested the government’s legal position, so the Department of Justice provided it. That is what occurred, and that is what happened,” Jean-Pierre said [1].

“‘It was not required’ is the — is the question,” the reporter said. “I am — I would refer you to the State Department on any other specifics,” she answered. “The immunity flows directly from MBS’s role as prime minister in the Saudi government, which he was appointed to in September.” [1]

“Jamal Died Again Today”

A third reporter read Jean-Pierre the reaction of Khashoggi’s fiancée, “who said of this decision to grant immunity to the Saudi Crown Prince, quote, ‘Jamal died again today.’ She said, ‘We thought maybe there would be a light to justice from #USA. But again, money came first.’” [1]

“Let me just first say that the President’s feelings about what happened to Khashoggi — Jamal Khashoggi — are very well known,” Jean-Pierre said. “It’s nothing to do with the merits of this case. I want to say that again: It has nothing to do with the merits of this case.” [1]

She listed earlier steps: “We froze offensive arm sales, released the IC’s Khashoggi report. We imposed visa bans on nearly 80 Saudi officials.” Asked what Biden would tell the fiancée, she said: “Look — look, our hearts go out to her.” [1]

“The Pariah That They Are”

Three years earlier, at a Democratic debate in Atlanta, Biden was asked whether he would punish senior Saudi leaders. “Yes, and I said it at the time. Khashoggi was, in fact, murdered and dismembered, and I believe on the order of the crown prince,” Biden said. “And I would make it very clear we were not going to, in fact, sell more weapons to them, we were going to, in fact, make them pay the price and make them, in fact, the pariah that they are.” [2]

The group that sued called out the reversal. “It’s beyond ironic that President Biden has single-handedly assured MBS can escape accountability when it was President Biden who promised the American people he would do everything to hold him accountable,” said Sarah Leah Whitson of Democracy for the Arab World Now, Fox News reported [3].

The Fist Bump

Four months before the filing, Biden flew to Jeddah. “According to images shown by the Saudi state TV the Crown Prince and POTUS exchanged a fist bump upon arrival,” the White House pool reported. “The pool arrived after this interaction took place.” [5]

Afterward, Biden said he had raised the murder. “With respect to the murder of Khashoggi, I raised it at the top of the meeting, making it clear what I thought of it at the time and what I think of it now,” he said. Asked for the crown prince’s response, Biden said: “He basically said that he was not personally responsible for it.” [6]

By the Numbers

3: past immunity cases Jean-Pierre cited, from 1993, 2001 and 2014 [1].
Nearly 80: Saudi officials hit with visa bans, per Jean-Pierre [1].
September 2022: when the crown prince was named prime minister [1].
Oct. 2, 2018: the day Khashoggi was killed at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul [3].

What Happened Next

The case was thrown out. On Dec. 6, 2022, U.S. District Judge John D. Bates “dismissed the suit on the grounds of sovereign immunity,” Fox News reported. The ruling “falls in line with the position of President Biden’s administration.” Bates noted there remain “credible allegations of his involvement in Khashoggi’s murder,” according to Fox [4].

For the crown prince reportedly mocking Biden in private, see HYGO News’ page on Oct. 24, 2022. For Biden mangling the crown prince’s name at the G20, see the page on Sept. 9, 2023.