WASHINGTON—U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), the top Democrat on the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Near East, South Asia, Central Asia and Counterterrorism, on Wednesday called on the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence to investigate reports that a high-level Saudi official hacked Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos’s phone in an effort to influence—if not silence—the Post’s reporting on Saudi Arabia and the death of Jamal Khashoggi. In the letter, Murphy called specifically for an investigation into this case and any other U.S. citizens who may have been hacked as part of this campaign to intimidate opponents of the Kingdom, and requested a briefing for Congress on the status of any current investigation and all preliminary and final conclusions.
Murphy wrote: “The operation against Mr. Bezos raises serious concern that other American citizens may have been deliberately targeted by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Cyber crimes committed by officials of the Saudi government could have serious ramifications on the U.S-Saudi relationship.”
“This new allegation indicates that Khashoggi’s murder may be a part of a broader campaign to intimidate and silence opponents of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It is critical that the Congress and the American people understand the extent of this campaign and any ongoing vulnerabilities to U.S. national security,” Murphy continued.
Since 2015, Murphy has been a critic of U.S. support for the Saudi-led military campaign in Yemen. He has repeatedly expressed concern that U.S. participation in Saudi Arabia’s military actions against Houthi rebels in Yemen threatens our own national security interests. Following the murder of Khashoggi, Murphy reiterated his call for the suspension of military support for the Saudi-led campaign in a Washington Post op-ed. Last year, Murphy introduced a bipartisan resolution with U.S. Senators Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Mike Lee (R-Utah) pursuant to the War Powers Act to end unauthorized U.S. military involvement. The resolution passed both the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate earlier this year before being vetoed by President Trump. This was the first time since the War Powers Act became law in 1973 that both houses of Congressed passed a War Powers Act resolution.
This press release is made possible by:
