[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 472 Introduced in House (IH)]
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116th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. RES. 472
Requesting the President to strongly condemn Jamal Khashoggi's killing,
hold accountable individuals identified as culpable, and condemn
imprisonment of and violence against journalists around the world.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
June 27, 2019
Ms. Speier (for herself, Mr. Hastings, Mrs. Bustos, Mr. McGovern, Mr.
Thompson of California, Ms. Titus, Mr. Cartwright, Mr. Takano, Ms.
DelBene, Ms. Schakowsky, Mrs. Davis of California, Ms. Judy Chu of
California, Mrs. Napolitano, Mr. Sires, Mr. Connolly, Mr. Castro of
Texas, Mr. McNerney, Mr. Espaillat, Ms. Jackson Lee, Mr. Costa, Ms.
DeLauro, Mr. Raskin, Mr. Suozzi, Mr. Malinowski, Mr. DeSaulnier, Mr.
Morelle, Mr. Casten of Illinois, Ms. Bass, Mr. Vargas, Mr. Garamendi,
Mr. Gallego, Mr. Khanna, Mr. Cisneros, and Mr. DeFazio) submitted the
following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign
Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Requesting the President to strongly condemn Jamal Khashoggi's killing,
hold accountable individuals identified as culpable, and condemn
imprisonment of and violence against journalists around the world.
Whereas Jamal Khashoggi was a Saudi journalist born on October 13, 1958, who was
murdered in the Saudi Arabian consulate in Turkey on October 2, 2018;
Whereas Mr. Khashoggi wrote for and edited a number of publications, including
the Washington Post, Al Watan, Arab News, and Al Madina;
Whereas, during his career, Mr. Khashoggi covered events in Afghanistan,
Algeria, Kuwait, and across the Middle East;
Whereas Mr. Khashoggi represented a rare example of a journalist in Saudi Arabia
by questioning regime policies and covering unfavorable events;
Whereas Mr. Khashoggi became a champion of American values, including democracy,
freedom of the press, and women's rights;
Whereas Mr. Khashoggi openly questioned the Saudi regime's policies, including
its war in Yemen, crackdown on dissenters, and isolation of Qatar;
Whereas voicing differences with Saudi Arabia's rulers forced Mr. Khashoggi to
flee Saudi Arabia;
Whereas Mr. Khashoggi became a permanent resident of the United States in June
2017 and began writing for the Washington Post in September 2017;
Whereas the Saudi regime targeted Mr. Khashoggi and his writings by marshaling a
host of online trolls to delegitimize and harass Mr. Khashoggi and other
Saudi dissidents;
Whereas Saudi officials lured Mr. Khashoggi to the Saudi consulate in Istanbul
under a false sense of security;
Whereas upon arrival Mr. Khashoggi was tortured, killed, and dismembered by
Saudi agents flown in from Saudi Arabia for this purpose;
Whereas the Saudi regime subsequently engaged in a weeks-long campaign of
obfuscation, deception, and lying to deny Saudi involvement in Mr.
Khashoggi's murder;
Whereas, when confronted with clear evidence of Mr. Khashoggi's death at the
hands of Saudi agents, Saudi officials blamed the murder on rogue
operators within its Government;
Whereas the Trump administration subsequently sanctioned only relatively junior
Saudi officials, many of whom had been identified as culpable by the
Saudi regime;
Whereas an independent report conducted by United Nations investigator Agnes
Callamard concluded that there is ``sufficient credible evidence'' that
Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince bears responsibility for the assassination
and that, based on definitions in international law, the kingdom
conducted Khashoggi's ``deliberate, premeditated execution''; and that
Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince should face ``targeted sanctions . . . until
and unless evidence is provided and corroborated that he carries no
responsibilities for this execution.'';
Whereas President Trump has explicitly prioritized Saudi purchases of United
States weaponry over the Saudi regime's murder of Mr. Khashoggi and
continues to show disrespect for journalistic freedoms;
Whereas Saudi Arabia's leaders continue to crack down on dissenters and reforms,
disregard basic rights, and perpetrate destabilizing foreign policies;
Whereas the Committee to Protect Journalists found that, in 2018, there were at
least 251 journalists imprisoned because of their work globally;
Whereas, in 2018, Saudi Arabia imprisoned at least 16 journalists for their
work;
Whereas Turkey, China, and Egypt all imprison high numbers of journalists;
Whereas, in 2018, the Committee to Protect Journalists found that there were at
least 54 journalists killed globally, including in the United States;
Whereas President Trump has been reluctant to condemn the killing and
imprisonment of journalists generally and Mr. Khashoggi in particular;
and
Whereas President Trump has himself praised violence against journalists and
called the media the ``enemy of the American people'': Now, therefore,
be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives requests that the
President--
(1) strongly condemn Jamal Khashoggi's killing and hold
accountable individuals identified as culpable by United States
intelligence agencies;
(2) condemn imprisonment of and violence against
journalists around the world;
(3) cease describing the media in terms that could
encourage violence against journalists; and
(4) use tools of United States power, including diplomacy,
sanctions, and military sales, to encourage other countries to
respect and further press freedom.
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