The Trump administration is considering a request to grant Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia immunity from a federal lawsuit that accuses him of trying to kill a former Saudi intelligence official Saad Aljabri living in exile in Canada.
Saudi Arabia wants the U.S. to act before Jan. 20, when President Donald Trump leaves office and Joe Biden - who has promised a tougher stance toward the kingdom - becomes president, the person said.
Granting immunity could also deal a fatal blow to a separate case in which the crown prince is accused in the 2018 killing of Saudi dissident Jamal Khashoggi.
The current case accuses the crown prince of deploying operatives in the U.S. to track down Saad Aljabri, a former high-level Saudi official who has worked with U.S. intelligence agencies, and then dispatching a team to murder him.
Aljabri said in the lawsuit that he became privy to sensitive information about Prince Mohammed's "covert political scheming within the Royal Court" as well as his business dealings and his role in creating a team of operatives to kill Khashoggi.
"The decision on granting MBS immunity should take its due course even if that makes it fall into the hands of the Biden Administration," said Khalid Aljabri, Saad Aljabri's son, using an acronym for the crown prince. "This should not be a rushed political favor. Granting MBS immunity will result in absolute impunity and he will use it as a U.S. issued license to kill."
It's still unknown whether Pompeo will act before he leaves as part of the transition to the Biden administration next month.
Trump made strong ties with Saudi Arabia the centerpiece of his administration's Middle East policy, downplaying Khashoggi's killing and expediting arms sales to the kingdom. Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner developed a close bond with the crown prince, consulting with him regularly as he developed a Mideast peace plan.
Biden, who referred to Saudi Arabia as a "pariah" during his campaign, has indicated he'll reverse Trump's approach, though he's also said Saudi Arabia must remain an important ally. Both Republican and Democratic members of Congress have been critical of the president's support for Prince Mohammed.
