The White House is reportedly preventing CIA Director Gina Haspel from briefing the Senate on the murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey.
On Tuesday, Democratic Senator Dick Durbin told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer that senators had been told Haspel would not take part in Wednesday’s all-Senate classified briefing where Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Defense Secretary James Mattis will also be present.
This contradicts indications that lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are interested in hearing directly from her on the CIA’s assessment of Khashoggi’s killing in October.
“We were told that she would not be attending the briefing for members of Congress,” Durbin said.
“That is extraordinary when we are dealing with the Khashoggi situation, the assertion by the State Department and intelligence agencies, her absence is obvious and it’s noted, and it raises a serious question as to whether…