Some U.S. senators said on Tuesday that CIA chief should brief full Senate on the death of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, after a classified briefing held earlier that day.
CIA Director Gina Haspel gave a classified briefing on Khashoggi's death to several senators on Tuesday, which aroused some senators' calling for a full Senate brief.
"Every Senator should hear what I heard this afternoon," Democratic Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois said on his official website, "CIA Director Haspel must brief the full Senate immediately."
Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer also said that Haspel should meet with the full Senate, according to media reports.
"CIA Director Haspel should brief the full Senate without delay," Schumer, a New York Democrat, said in a statement on Tuesday.
Senator Rand Paul, who was excluded from the Tuesday briefing, said that the small group briefing was an example of the "deep state."
"Why shouldn't every senator know what is going on?" the Kentucky Republican said on his Twitter, "This is just ridiculous!"
House Representatives will receive an intelligence briefing from the administration next week on the Khashoggi case, but it's unclear whether the CIA chief will attend, according to media reports.
Khashoggi has been missing since he entered the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2. The Saudi authorities said Khashoggi died in a "brawl" in its consulate.
After releasing the results of its initial investigation, the Saudi Public Prosecution announced that 18 Saudis were arrested for their alleged connections with the killing.
The U.S. Treasury imposed sanctions on 17 individuals over their alleged roles in the killing of Khashoggi in mid-November, following U.S. State Department's decision in late October to revoke 21 Saudi suspects' visas.
The U.S. Congress has urged a thorough investigation into the murder of Khashoggi, and threatened to take more actions against Saudi Arabia if those responsible were not held accountable.
