This is what happens when you have phony principles

A US judge has asked the Biden administration to weigh in on whether Mohammed bin Salman, the crown prince of Saudi Arabia, should be granted sovereign immunity in a civil case brought against him in the US by Hatice Cengiz, the fiancee of Jamal Khashoggi, the journalist who was killed by Saudi agents in 2018.

John Bates, a district court judge, gave the US government until 1 August to declare its interests in the civil case or give the court notice that it has no view on the matter.

The administration’s decision could have a profound effect on the civil case and comes as Joe Biden is facing criticism for abandoning a campaign promise to turn Saudi Arabia into a “pariah”.

The US president is due to meet the heir apparent to the Saudi throne later this month when he makes his first trip to Riyadh since entering the White House.

  Guardian

And he should never have said that. He knew the US is bound to Saudi Arabia by the decisions of our real rulers - huge corporations.

While Saudi Arabia said it held a trial against the hit squad responsible for the grisly murder, the proceeding was widely condemned as a sham, and some of the most senior members of the team have been sighted in a state security compound in Riyadh.

Other possible avenues of justice have been stymied for political reasons. A Turkish prosecutor in March ended a long-running trial in absentia against Khashoggi’s killers, in a move that was seen as part of the Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s attempts to improve relations with Prince Mohammed.

The Saudi prince has taken responsibility for the murder on behalf of the Saudi government but has denied any personal involvement in planning the assassination.

This business of "taking responsibility" by political players is such bullshit. You haven't taken responsibility for something until you correct it or pay a price for it.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.