US Lawmaker Demands Lobby Firms Detail Dealings With Riyadh Amid Khashoggi Case

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - US Senator Elizabeth Warren is demanding that US lobbying firms employed by Saudi Arabia detail the scope of their work and explain whether their business dealings with Riyadh reflect American values, letters published by the lawmaker showed on Thursday.

'United States Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) sent letters to 23 US lobbying firms requesting information on the scope of their lobbying services for the government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia or any Saudi government-affiliated entity', Warren's office said in a press release.

For 18 of the 23 firms that continue to represent Saudi Arabia, despite the October 2 murder of Jamal Khashoggi inside the kingdom’s Istanbul consulate, Warren urged a re-evaluation of 'whether your firm's relationship with this regime is consistent with American values'.

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Warren’s letters to the remaining five firms seek confirmation of reports that those companies have severed ties with the desert kingdom following Khashoggi’s murder.

'If the reports are accurate, the decision to terminate lobbying services for the Saudi government is a positive step toward reducing the corrosive influence of foreign governments and other special interests on our democracy', the latter batch of letters said.

All of the letters cite recent reports that Washington lobbyists have 'raked in $76.9 million', over the past decade to advocate for the Saudis 'on everything from nuclear power to fending off legislation that would leave the kingdom liable in lawsuits filed by family members of victims in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks'.

Warren recently introduced legislation that would prohibit American lobbyists from accepting compensation from foreign governments, foreign individuals, and foreign companies to influence US policy, according to the release.