“Americans deserve answers regarding your communications with the Crown Prince, as well as any promises, favor or commitments exchanged during the conversation.”
Washington, D.C. — Congressman Eugene Vindman (Va.-07) today led a group of 37 U.S. House lawmakers in sending a letter to President Donald Trump calling for the immediate release of the transcript of a 2019 phone call between President Trump and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman following the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
After the murder, Vindman — then a National Security Council deputy legal advisor — reviewed the transcript of the call. He has stated that the American people, and the Khashoggi family, deserve to know what was said.
In their letter, the lawmakers argue that the circumstances surrounding Khashoggi’s murder, and the Trump administration’s subsequent engagement with the Saudi government, warrant immediate public disclosure of the call’s contents.
In the letter, Vindman and his colleagues stated “The U.S. Intelligence Community concluded that the Saudi Crown Prince personally ordered Khashoggi’s murder. In a direct rebuke of our dedicated national security civil servants, your recent statements suggest that you place greater trust in the Crown Prince’s claims than in the assessments of our intelligence agencies.”
“Moreover, our strategic interests in the Middle East do not require the whitewashing of human rights abuses nor the abandonment of core American values. The American people deserve transparency in our foreign policy,” the lawmakers continued. “Americans deserve answers regarding your communications with the Crown Prince, as well as any promises, favor or commitments exchanged during the conversation.”
A full copy of the letter text can be found below.
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Dear Mr. President:
We write to demand the release of the full transcript of your 2019 phone call with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, which was reviewed by Congressman Eugene Vindman during his tenure on the White House National Security Council. The American people deserve to know what was said in that conversation, particularly anything that might pertain to the brutal murder of Jamal Khashoggi, a U.S.-based Washington Post journalist and Virginia resident.
We recognize that U.S. national security sometimes requires engaging with governments and leaders whose values do not align with our own. However, such engagement does not require forming personal alliances with authoritarian figures. Whether dealing with Chairman Kim Jong Un, President Vladimir Putin, or President Xi Jinping, presidents must navigate complex relationships. However, doing so in a manner that publicly flatters, defends, or excuses their conduct undermines U.S. credibility and projects weakness on the world stage.
The U.S. Intelligence Community concluded that the Saudi Crown Prince personally ordered Khashoggi’s murder. In a direct rebuke of our dedicated national security civil servants, your recent statements suggest that you place greater trust in the Crown Prince’s claims than in the assessments of our intelligence agencies. Moreover, our strategic interests in the Middle East do not require the whitewashing of human rights abuses nor the abandonment of core American values.
The American people deserve transparency in our foreign policy. Specifically, Americans deserve answers regarding your communications with the Crown Prince, as well as any promises, favor or commitments exchanged during the conversation. For these reasons and for the sake of justice and closure for the Khashoggi family, we urge you to immediately release the transcript of the 2019 call.
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BACKGROUND
Jamal Khashoggi, a Washington Post journalist and U.S. resident, was murdered inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in October 2018 — an event that drew worldwide condemnation and raised serious questions about Saudi Arabia’s leadership and the Trump administration’s response.
At the time of the Trump–bin Salman call in 2019, Vindman was serving as a lawyer on the White House National Security Council. His responsibilities included reviewing certain presidential calls with foreign leaders. Following Khashoggi’s murder, he reviewed this call and believes its contents are of clear public interest.
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