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Sarah Leah Whitson, the executive director of DAWN, accused the administration of folding to Saudi pressure tactics.

\"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. Not even the Trump administration did this,\" she said.

\"PHOTO:
Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
PHOTO: President Joe Biden is welcomed by Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at Alsalam Royal Palace in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, July 15, 2022.
>

As a candidate, Biden promised to hold Saudi leaders accountable for their role in what he described as the \"flat-out murder\" of Khashoggi. After entering the White House, he appeared to soften his position, embarking on a presidential trip to Saudi Arabia in July where he fist bumped Prince Mohammed.

After that much-criticized meeting, Biden said he had raised Khashoggi's killing with the de-facto Saudi leader.

\"I raised it at the top of the meeting,\" Biden said, \"making it clear what I thought of it at the time, and what I think of it now.\"

\"I was straightforward and direct in discussing it. I made my new crystal clear. I said very straightforwardly, for an American president to be silent on an issue of human rights is inconsistent with who we are and who I am,\" he added.

Mohammed bin Salman's response was that he was not personally responsible, Biden said. \"I indicated I thought he was,\" Biden continued.

Khashoggi, an outspoken critic of the Saudi government, was killed by its officials while seeking documents for his planned marriage at the Saudi Arabian consulate in Istanbul in 2018, according to Turkish authorities. Security cameras captured Khashoggi entering the building but not exiting and his body was never recovered, leading investigators to believe he was dismembered.

Following Khashoggi's death, U.S. intelligence concluded that Prince Mohammed signed off on an operation to either capture or kill the journalist, although the Saudi government has denied any involvement.

The State Department maintains that it has imposed penalties on Saudi Arabia for its connection to the slaying, highlighting sanctions and visa restrictions placed on lower-ranking officials.

\"From the earliest days of this Administration, the United States Government has expressed its grave concerns regarding Saudi agents' responsibility for Jamal Khashoggi's murder. U.S. officials have raised our concerns publicly and with the most senior levels of the Saudi government,\" a department spokesperson said.

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