WASHINGTON — 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 living in Canada, legal documents related to the case show. If the request is granted, the State Department’s recommendation could potentially provide a legal basis to dismiss other cases against the prince, most notably one where he is accused of directing the assassination of the Saudi dissident Jamal Khashoggi in 2018, a person familiar with the case said. The immunity request stems from a case involving Saad Aljabri, a former top aide in the Saudi Interior Ministry, who in August publicly accused Prince Mohammed of sending a team of agents to Canada to kill him. His lawsuit offered little evidence to back up his claims. State Department officials last month gave lawyers for Mr. Aljabri a questionnaire asking for their legal views on Saudi Arabia’s request to grant the prince immunity against claims made in the lawsuit, documents show.

Source: International New York Times December 22, 2020 23:48 UTC