- A federal judge in the nation’s capital agreed to toss a civil lawsuit against Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for the killing of writer Jamal Khashoggi after the Biden administration said he should be granted head-of-state immunity.
- Judge John Bates wrote in an opinion filed Tuesday that the suit – brought by Khashoogi’s fiancée Hatice Cengiz and pro-democracy group DAWN – “must be dismissed at this time,” despite a request by the plaintiffs’ attorneys that the judge challenge the Biden decision.
- “As the branch of government primarily responsible for international affairs and diplomacy, the Executive Branch may be hindered or embarrassed should the judiciary second-guess its foreign immunity decisions,” Bates wrote.
