It raised eyebrows six weeks ago when Saudi Arabia’s aged king, Salman, named his son, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, as prime minister. The Biden administration declared that Prince Mohammed’s standing as prime minister shielded him from a U.S. lawsuit. On 11/18/2022, State Department spokesman Vedant Patel gave examples of past instances of the U.S. recognizing immunity for heads of government or state. Reporter Matt Lee asked, “Yes. Recognizing that the Attorney General is about to speak in about five minutes and talk about DOJ issues, I want to ask you about a different DOJ issue, the one that arose last night. And I’m just wondering if you can explain to us in layman’s terms why, exactly, the Saudi MBS case is different in terms of sovereign immunity than cases that had been brought – civil lawsuits and criminal prosecutions – against other foreign leaders and other foreign governments.”
MR PATEL: Sure, Matt. So what this stems from is that Prime Minister – Prime Minister bin Salman is immune from suit in U.S. courts while he holds the office of prime minister … Because the sovereign immunity of a foreign state is governed by FSIA, the U.S. does not file suggestions of immunity in civil actions brought against foreign states. That, however, does not address the immunity of a head of government which is at issue in this case.
Matt Lee: Okay. So the difference is that this is a suit that’s filed against him personally —
MR PATEL: That is my understanding.
Matt Lee: — rather than against the Saudi Government?
MR PATEL: Correct.
Matt Lee: So does that mean that if the suit was filed against the Saudi Government, you wouldn’t weigh in with an opinion?
MR PATEL: I will let the Department of Justice speak to the specific legal mechanisms.
Matt Lee: They’re a little busy right now.
MR PATEL: I will let them —
Matt Lee: I don’t think – I don’t think we’re going to get an answer from them on this.
MR PATEL: I will let them speak to the specific mechanisms, but as it relates to this case specifically that arose overnight, this immunity flows directly from the crown prince’s role as prime minister …
Matt Lee: Okay. So prior to him being named prime minister, this suggestion of immunity wouldn’t have applied?
MR PATEL: I’m not going to get into hypotheticals or what —
Matt Lee: That’s not a hypothetical.
MR PATEL: — we would or wouldn’t have done.
Matt Lee: That is an actual fact that he was not the prime minister as of a couple weeks and now he is.
MR PATEL: What I can say, Matt, is that this designation that we – that was filed last night stems from the fact that he is a head of government …
Matt Lee: Okay. So just to make sure that I understand it, to put a fine point on it: When a suit is brought against a government – like Iran, like North Korea, like Sudan – the State Department doesn’t weigh in on sovereign immunity grounds?
MR PATEL: We are weighing in because there was a —
Matt Lee: No, no, no. I mean not in this case, but I mean in other cases.
MR PATEL: Right. What I am trying to explain my understanding of the mechanism, which is in this, the court asked the Department of Justice to do so. It is not my understanding that courts would do so if the defendant is a sovereign state versus an official, but again, I will let the Department of Justice speak to the specific legal mechanisms.
QUESTION: So first of all, it’s been – critics of the decision to grant the crown prince immunity, or to determine he does have immunity in this case, have accused the administration of slow-walking the process, which in the duration of that time the crown prince was able to take on the title of prime minister. I just want to say, was there any kind of delay on behalf of the State Department and did the determination – or did taking on the title of prime minister – was there any kind of coordination between Saudi Arabia and the State Department over that topic?
MR PATEL: So, first, I will let the Department of Justice speak to the legal sequencing and the timeline. I don’t have anything to offer on that. But what I would reiterate again is that what this designation comes from – it comes from the crown prince’s role as prime minister, as head of government. And what I want to be very clear about is that it has.
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That’s not a hypothetical. That is an actual fact. Head is the King not Prince. not PM couple weeks & now he is