Lawsuit against Saudi crown prince dismissed after Biden administration recommended he is given immu
Source: cnn
By Alex Marquardt and Tierney Sneed, CNN
Updated 5:46 PM EST, Tue December 6, 2022
A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit against Saudi Arabias crown prince after the Biden administration recommended he be granted immunity in the case brought against him by the fiancée of murdered Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
Judge John Bates said in an opinion that despite his uneasiness, the US government told the DC District Court that Prince Mohammed bin Salman is immune since he also holds the title of prime minister and so he is entitled to head of state immunity.
That unease was not only due to the princes involvement in Khashoggis murder, the judge wrote, but also the timing of his appointment as prime minister of Saudi Arabia. Bin Salman, known as MBS, was only made prime minister and therefore the technical head of the government in late September in what observers saw as a ploy to secure head of government immunity in the lawsuit brought by Hatice Cengiz and Khashoggis advocacy group DAWN.
Bates noted the suspicious timing of the princes appointment and the plaintiffs argument that until now, only the king was the countrys prime minister.
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Had the administration not made that recommendation, Bates wrote Tuesday, the court would have considered the arguments that the case against MBS should not be dismissed. Instead, going against the will of the administration would unduly interfere with their diplomatic responsibilities. ..............................
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Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/06/politics/saudi-crown-prince-lawsuit-dismissed/index.html
Richard D
(8,754 posts)Evolve Dammit
(16,743 posts)Richard D
(8,754 posts)is to be a prime minister. then it's 100% OK.
CloudWatcher
(1,850 posts)I have to wonder what the legal basis is for the administration to have this kind of power, and for the judiciary to respect it. Is there something magical about foreign heads of state? Could they have asserted the same immunity for say, the head of Samsung? Is there an actual law that gives this power to the administration?
I can understand diplomatic immunity for diplomats traveling to foreign countries, but foreign heads of state should be held accountable just like any other citizen of the world. Yes? Haven't heads of state been held accountable for their crimes? Pinochet anyone?
LiberalLovinLug
(14,174 posts)Tit for Tat?
TheBlackAdder
(28,209 posts)Woodwizard
(845 posts)We should wean ourselves off oil we use way too much, We just got out of a middle east disaster.
TheBlackAdder
(28,209 posts).
But seizing some of their assets would hit them where it counts.
.
Woodwizard
(845 posts)TheBlackAdder
(28,209 posts)Orrex
(63,216 posts)Trump claiming immunity from lawsuits related to Jan 6 because he was head of state: [link:https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/07/politics/trump-immunity-lawsuits-appeal-january-6|
I hoped I was kidding.
Prairie_Seagull
(3,329 posts)OH yea, IT DEVASTATED A FAMILY! But have to keep those ginormous SUVs in fuel.
Some things we don't have to plugged into foreign affairs to know. If I were responsible for a hacksaw murder, I am pretty sure there would be consequences. Wait, he is a prince, I am not, He has oil, i do not.
Never mind.
TigressDem
(5,125 posts)2 Billion for WHAT exactly?
Hmmm?