A Senate demand that CIA director Gina Haspel brief the chamber on the CIA's internal reports on the murder of Jamal Khashoggi were only partially fulfilled Tuesday December 5. Senior members' remarks to the press following the briefing indicated deepening objection to the White House's current approach to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, who is widely suspected of having ordered and directed Khashoggi's murder inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey. Leading senators as well as leaked extracts from CIA reports assert bin Salman's guilt is now beyond any doubt. Moreover, senators excluded from the briefing have expressed dismay that intelligence on Khashoggi's murder continues to be withheld from members of Congress. As the Senate's frustration over the White House's reluctance to hold bin Salman accountable has intensified, more members have linked Khashoggi's fate to other areas disagreement with the Trump administration over U.S.-Saudi relations.

Yet President Trump and other members of his administration have attempted to dissuade Congress from using CIA intelligence as a pretext to punish Saudi Arabia or otherwise overhaul policies undergirding the U.S.-Saudi alliance. Prominent policy analysts argue the U.S. has no viable alternative to bin Salman in Saudi Arabia, while other senators have expressed support for preserving the protocol of classified CIA briefings.