President Joe Biden administration’s response to a question by judge John Bates on whether Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman – known as MBS – should be treated as a head of state or government, and thereby entitled to sovereign immunity was hardly surprising. It announced on 17 November that based on MBS’s promotion on 27 September – by his father King Salman – to become prime minister, then he should be granted immunity in a US civil lawsuit brought against him by Jamal Khashoggi’s fiancée, Hatice Cengiz, and DAWN, a pro-democracy group, accusing MBS  of conspiring with premeditation to murder Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in 2018. Although Biden’s Administration sought to defend its highly contentious decision, claiming that it was based on … Continue reading Will Biden double down on the reckless strategy of appeasing MBS?