who very much wants to focus on keeping the saudis calm maintaining stability which means then the rules that we thought we were playing by no longer have any meaning because under president trump the u.s. isn't going to enforce them so why is the international study relationship so important you hear the likes of donna from saying hey we don't need their oil anymore we've got our own we can be energy dependent president bush was saying years ago we have to wean ourselves off middle east oil so i'm wondering why is the what is so crucial about the saudi relationship now in well 2819 this year of. death and i think you have to go back to maybe how strategic thinkers and practitioners in washington view the middle east yes of course oil as you said has always been important but the real fear in my career about the middle east was there would be a breakdown in stability open warfare which would lead to the closing of course of the strait of hormuz but much worse where you've got a nuclear capable israel we've got iran pursuing nuclear weapons iran iraq war was a catastrophe for everybody so in my time in the white house believe it or not when

planning was happening for the iraq war what i felt people were thinking about was what's what's the biggest point of fairly what could be the worst thing that it could happen it would be that they thought saddam hussein acquired weapons of mass destruction and so then everything kind of trickled down from that so similarly now saudi arabia is seen by president trump as the centerpiece of his middle east strategy such as it is israel saudi relations are good better than they've been ever. the crown prince and your cushion are our special friends and jarrett is taking the lead on the whole middle east policy i think kind of talking it through with. the congress mohamed so in short nothing's going to change it no it's not i think nothing's going to change the u.s. congress has taken legislative action is passed laws that could cut off u.s. military assistance to saudi arabia for the war in yemen and president vetoed it and he to override that veto there needs to be a 2 thirds majority in the senate and there's actually a majority that supports trump in the senate. it will never go against him among

the republicans you'll familiar with this part of the world is not. specifically but certainly around this whole region the way that the turkish diplomats and turkish intelligence is going to say played this but it's far more important than than playing them but the way that they they they fed the information out over a period of time what were your thoughts on that and i guess the fact that that's what has kept it going that's what kept the story alive 100 percent i was on another one of these balconies at the time a year ago often for days on end with the other networks and i remember one day the banker there was saying well we're going to have to start criticizing the turkish government because there seems to be no no interest by the turkish government to find out what happened and then 20 minutes later the 1st leaks started and then the next ones and the next ones and i could see in the journalistic community and myself. people are really thrilled that that took courage by the turkish government it was throwing down the gauntlet of course but they did it and otherwise we

wouldn't know what happened did you read that piece which president and russian the m. and the m's and goodness me and the washington post and it's precious maybe so it should be so jeff bezos from i was in at the memorial today of course the owner of the washington post yes but that that that pace was interesting because he made the point president and one made the point that we are still friends with saudi arabia and we still see them as an ally and actually he went as far to say we make a clear distinction between the thugs his would who kill jamal and the leadership of saudi arabia how is that putting pressure on saudi arabia one year later if you read very carefully if you parse each sentence you'll see one in there where he says saudi leadership king solomon nothing about the crown prince from the very beginning era one did not call the crown prince he called the king and worked it that way so to me that was a signal. so subtle enough you think to say that mom had been summoned out still

but i think it should be because again it's the turkish government that leaked all the information by which we know more or less what happened but also keep in mind turkish saudi relations are terrible right i mean they're completely locking horns in the gulf with turkey and qatar together and saudi arabia together with the emirates and egypt and president hu and i think has great concern about egyptian politics and president el-sisi how he came to power so you know it's as if the turkish government president everyone is saying this shouldn't make our relationship much worse you broke the rules we know you did it let's find a way to move on but this was not good why can't the u.s. do at least that and should you say you broke the rules and maybe this is a good point to bring up and with you as a diplomat you may have a thought on this the fact that it happens and this was brought up from day one it happened inside the saudi consulate yeah but that saudi consulate is hosted by tookie and there is this massive grey area which i don't feel has really been cleared up any more yeah absolutely i mean it seems pretty clear to me under the

vienna convention that that's utterly unacceptable i mean forget about the fact it was an atrocity and disgusting crime you are not allowed as the hosted country to use your consulate or embassy facility to commit a crime it's that's not allowed under diplomatic or international law and and diplomatic agreements so i think that also is something that really stuck in the throat of president and a lot on the turkish side how dare you do this do this here and you're telling the world you think we're just going to let you sweep this under the rug that we're human rights violators that we don't care about human beings so i think it made the problem even worse and led them to the turkish side being even more free flowing in clues about what happened that they gave out methods it's a pleasure talking to you and i know you made a mad dash from the get here for us as well but it's very important as a really do appreciate i think human. you're watching a special broadcast. here on al-jazeera as we mark one year since the death of the saudi journalist jamal khashoggi there are events happening across the city today

outside the saudi consulate also a memorial stone will be unveiled many people here today as i mentioned actually jamal's. previous employer jeff bezos from amazon which owns the washington post many human rights groups here today as well as officials it is a somber day here in istanbul as we were just discussing with matthew the killing may have happened in a saudi consulate which is considered saudi territory but that saudi consulate is right here in the country of turkey and that issue as we discussed it is never ever been resolved as has of course his death. well seeing as we were talking to matthew there about some of the international relations his experience there as the former ambassador u.s. ambassador and as a former white house employee maybe we should focus on the united states as well now because president donald trump has certainly stood by his ally for

a very long time on the case of jamal khashoggi even in the face of cia intelligence and opposition from the u.s. congress mike hanna has this report now from washington looking at this relationship between 2 very powerful allies. a gathering on capitol hill to remember. the event arranged by the project on middle east democracy the same organization that hosted the journalist's last public appearance in the u.s. before he traveled to turkey and his debts. just over a year ago he was full of praise for the saudi crown prince years which included for his opening upload your d.v.r. socially he's freeing us from a deacon ism he's doing the miracle does for good to be a was reluctant to do crown prince thank you very much taken the day before mohammed bin solomon had paid a visit to the white house

a slight smile on his face as president trump outlined the financial importance of the saudi relationship some of the things that have been approved and are currently under construction and will be delivered to syria very soon but many in congress had a different view on the value of the relationship expressing deep concern about the saudi war in yemen u.s. forces have been actively engaged in support of the saudi coalition in this war providing intelligence an aerial refueling of planes whose bombs have killed thousands of people and made this humanitarian crisis far worse there was always deep tension between congress and the white house on the issue of saudi arabia the war in yemen just one of the reasons stretching back to the involvement of saudi nationals in the $911.00 attacks the murder of u.s. resident jamal khashoggi added yet another layer to congressional. this

intensified even further after a briefing by the cia chief in reference to the reports about the dismemberment of the body one of president trumps most loyal supporters insisted there was not just a smoking gun but a smoking saw i want to make sure that saudi arabia is put on notice that business as usual has come to an end for me no not look at the kingdom the same way that i used to look at it i will not support arms sales until all responsible for the death of mr k.'s show good have brought them brought to justice the sisk a the indictment of the president's dismissal of the matter in a formal quite. statement our intelligence agencies continue to assess all information but it could very well be that the crown prince had knowledge of this tragic event maybe he did and maybe he didn't writes a president complete with exclamation mark this is a by many in the months that followed congress passed legislation opposing arms

sales to saudi arabia demanding the withdrawal of u.s. forces supporting the war in yemen and insisting the administration establish accountability for jamal khashoggi as murder the bulls the smiths by presidential veto the ongoing feud the only case of holy bipartisan opposition to the actions of the sitting president. and a year after jamal khashoggi is death congregational anger still burns some looking for f.b.i. involvement they need to demonstrate their independence and they're not just under the thumb of this president and one way to demonstrate it is to take seriously and move forward with with an investigation and i believe the prosecution of the those responsible for the death of jamal should shoji the overarching reality though that the executive will continue to defy congress on the saudi issue until it is changed either through the ballot box or by

a successful impeachment trial of the president before the senate mike hanna al-jazeera washington or so you heard there in mike's report about some of the attempts by members of the u.s. congress to censure saudi arabia over jamal khashoggi lindsey graham very prominent republican was one of them another congressman jim mcgovern a democrat from massachusetts who i spoke to as he and his colleagues in washington recently were holding their own events. he's not telling the truth and that you know our u.s. intelligence has even raised the issue that the crown prince had direct knowledge of what happened this wouldn't have happened without the crown prince's permission so i don't buy it at all and we're here because we believe one year after there still needs to be accountability how do you view accountability in the case of the united states of the congress there of the leadership there well i mean what i

think the united states congress and the administration should do is we should stop all arms sales to saudi arabia and all military assistance congress in a bipartisan way has sent the trumpet ministration various bills calling for an end to certain weapons sales the administration has vetoed those those bills i find it unconscionable by continuing to sell arms to the saudis in light of not only what happened to jamal but what they're doing to dissidents and the brutal war that they're conducting in yemen but to continue to sell arms to saudi arabia in light of all of that means that this administration is complicit in these killings i mean this is this is it is a matter of principle that the united states at all stands for human rights we ought to draw a line in the sand there ought to be accountability and so i'm very disappointed that the trumpet ministration you know has really done nothing to hold the crown prince or the saudi government accountable i think it's unconscionable you're

disappointed you say it's unconscionable but can i suggest that maybe you're not that surprised given the ties that donald trump has to different leaders around the world particularly to the these i guess i'm not terribly surprised but i nonetheless remain disappointed because to me there are actions that certain governments take that is so horrific that there ought to be a consequence it can't just be business as usual and i get it the trouble ministration as a defense a difficult time both of invoking the words human. rights anywhere in the world but the crime beginning. was so horrific and so in your face to the international community that to not. impose a consequence it implies that we don't hear oh well i mean those in congress who have been vocal on this issue have tried to legislate on this issue we do care and we're going to continue to press the trumpet ministration like i said at this

press conference that this administration not only has blood on its hands it has blood up to its elbows based on the continuation of weapons sales to saudi arabia this is just plain wrong and and we're going to continue to pressure the administration to reverse course so what more a you and your colleagues going to do you've introduced legislation previously as you said the the executive branch the white house hasn't shown any interest what will can you do i'm going to continue to press my colleagues to to take even further steps to curtail. the sale of any weapons to saudi arabia and you know it we're also going to urge defense contractors to selling us defense contractors that are selling those weapons to stop it i mean there ought to be a standard there ought to be a line if a country crosses you know that should determine whether or not they are deserving of u.s. military assistance saudi arabia has crossed that line they have behaved in a barbaric way in a way that goes against all international norms in a way that quite frankly i would hope that any. administration in the united states

would find reprehensible and impose a consequence so we're not giving up we're disappointed that there are ministration is dragging its feet on this but we're not going away you're putting forward a very strong moral argument but you're fighting the almighty dollar on cheap and trying to tell you no contract is nothing not to do business and that i mean when things it's a big business it is a big business but the bottom line is that we should not sell weapons to countries that. mistreat their own people they commit these horrific murders like the saudi government is committed look if if we don't stand out loud. you know and condemnation of what the saudi government has done not only with regard to jamal khashoggi but with regard to a whole bunch of other human rights cases then we don't really have the moral authority to speak about human rights anywhere else in the world i mean this is clear there's no question here. and there needs to be accountability and the fact

that the trump ministration feels it's just ok to have business as usual quite frankly is a moral outrage you know this is not about iran this is not about you know the president's business dealings with saudi arabia or his you know being flattered by the crown prince when you visit a site arabia this really is about what we stand for as a country and it is really a rage is to me as a united states congressman as a u.s. citizen that in the face of such horrific acts by the saudi government that this administration is dragging its feet we're not given up we're going to continue to be a strong voice on behalf of human rights on the behalf of justice in the case of jamal and in so many other cases do you feel you will be able to be heard above the noise the political stage in the united states is filled with actors at the moment that something new every day and one year on trying to keep this i guess in the headlines we can walk and chew gum at the same time we can deal with issues of impeachment and still deal with issues of human rights you know government must

continue to do its work here and and i'm committed to that but if any if the administration or if the crown prince thinks that you know the law the more time that passes by you know then they they can move on and people forget about the case of your model and so many other cases they're wrong. and you know there are members of congress in the house and in the senate you know coming today to speak at an event to remind people that this is the one year anniversary of the murder of jamal khashoggi we're not going away and we're going to continue to press this administration until they do the right thing or until we get a different ministration. time for a bit more discussion now than in cause you're us back with our sara stamboul correspondent also we have our consumers with us the head of international law at the law firm stoke white so what we heard from the congressman there and what we've heard from a lot of our guests and people throughout the show is accountability and justice.

it is difficult enough to get accountability and justice in a murder case if it were nothing to do with politics but here we've got all this international politics woven into it can there be justice in all the fundamental question really when it comes to such cases as these the question here the dilemma is always do you want to have justice or peace this is something that's demonstrated in usually in different kind of situations however here we have a premeditated murder of an individual in the. diplomatic building it is an open case is the evidence out there for us to be able to really take this case and . hold those who perpetrated this crime against germany to account we have enough evidence to go on however as you said and your previous

guests of sins more than many of the things that you've been broadcasting from this shows us that politics play quite heavy hand in interfering in the process can i ask your legal opinion then on and i said is matthew really this idea about the diplomatic building the fact that it is a diplomatic building it is saudi land as such but it's right here in turkey. what's your view on what it doesn't ok the consulates does not necessarily have the full immunity to the embassies do the really can ration on consolations 963 actually allows. the hosting nation to have a say in what goes on so this is a 1st as far as we know the 1st of its kind there for talk show thirty's could have acted maybe earlier and question the members of the staff or people who wrote in the concert or even the consul general himself because they don't they don't enjoy

the same immunity as either the ambassador or his staff. there are examples of such cases been investigated by the hostage but obviously in the confusion death taken place about democracy is murder. were they was. inside the building or outside the building have you know maybe allowed maybe. just react to the kind of slowly but they could have had she writes to interfere in question so the turkish sovereignty has been a massive issue since day one on this hasn't the turks as we've discussed in the washington post opinion piece by president he talks about maintaining these good relations with saudi arabia but also he doesn't want saudi arabia or anyone indeed to walk all over his land and say what they want of course i mean is since they won especially turkish public opinion has been the same with the turkish authorities because it's a violation of turkish national survey and it's and it's

a kind of national pride issue for the turks and turks cannot accept that it's happening in their land because they feel like their country has been so easy for saudi arabia to get away with this murder and this is what they're trying to explain and turkish authorities mainly present i don't set on his opinion piece the 2 days ago in washington post that international order is actually in question right now that's why he compared it with 911 incidents. back in united states but they are doing it they're trying to show that this is not a bilateral issue. because presidents are gone has always pointed out the king found in his speeches he never mentioned the crown prince is going to say it's a really good point and but when you look at the moment the sound man's interview on p.b.s. he says i have 3000000 employees working for me he never mentions his father so this is another case turkey is flying to actually a prison tired on

a strike to taking cell man as a legitimate correspondence to him and his loyal subjects but as a journalist i feel like he doesn't take m.b.'s marmot in some manner as the legitimate. counterpart in saudi arabia but of course the. i mean in public and especially in the diplomatic circles when you speak to people this crime being committed on turkish soil is a big issue but of course no one would ever know about these if turkey didn't have those all your recordings from inside the consulate so then put the support you but i'll get an answer 1st from you know how how how can this become an international case is there such a thing as international justice for a teacher for jamal's family for anyone linked to the man himself there are for him here that there are options of the. options available in the concept to university

jurisdiction we could actually if right separate issue was made by the right.