周四，美国总统乔·拜登与沙特阿拉伯国王萨尔曼通了电话，这是两位领导人在新政府面临压力的情况下首次通话改变美国的关系因为所谓的侵犯人权行为。
特别是，拜登政府将发布一份来自美国情报界的非机密报告关于杀害专栏作家哈绍吉《华盛顿邮报》专栏作家、住在弗吉尼亚州的沙特持不同政见者。这份法律要求释放的报告预计将涉及王储穆罕默德·本·萨勒曼，萨勒曼国王的儿子和沙特王位继承人。
白宫表示，在拜登致电国王之前，国家情报总监办公室不会发布这份报告，这将进一步扰乱华盛顿与其长期中东伙伴之间的关系。
但拜登似乎有兴趣追究哈肖吉可怕的谋杀和沙特政府在邻国也门的空战的责任，同时也与一个关键的地区伙伴保持密切联系。
这将更难做到，因为穆罕默德王子，有时被称为他的首字母:MBS，对王国的控制更严格。一些人称赞他改革了沙特的经济、文化和法律框架，包括让女性开车，他还因残酷镇压政敌和人权活动分子而受到谴责，其中包括像鲁贾恩·阿尔·哈特卢这样的女性为驾驶权而战。
白宫表示，在周四的电话中，拜登“肯定了美国对普遍人权和法治的重视”。但他也“告诉国王萨尔曼，他将努力使双边关系尽可能强大和透明。两位领导人肯定了两国关系的历史性质，并同意在共同关心和感兴趣的问题上共同努力。”
白宫宣读的呼吁中既没有提到哈肖吉，也没有提到这份报告，尽管两人可能仍在讨论这个问题。
沙特政府否认与哈肖吉谋杀案有关——称其为“流氓”政府特工队是有责任的，而且MBS没有参与。
前总统唐纳德·特朗普(Donald Trump)保护政府免受国会对哈肖吉谋杀案的愤怒，并在也门开展活动，招致联合国对其战争罪的指控，此后，拜登政府改变与沙特关系的压力越来越大。
特朗普多次使用否决权保护沙特的利益，包括维持美国对沙特在也门联盟的支持，以及绕过国会向联盟出售武器。以及国务卿这样的高级顾问迈克·蓬佩奥他不断质疑美国情报部门对王储角色的发现。
但在2018年11月，就在哈肖吉在沙特驻伊斯坦布尔领事馆被沙特特工谋杀和肢解几周后，美国议员听取了机密版本的情报报告。共和党和民主党都多次表示，MBS发挥了作用。
“我们还有一个失控的王储，”时任参议院外交关系委员会主席的田纳西州参议员鲍勃·科克(Bob Corker)当时表示。“不管有没有确凿的证据，我认为房间里没有人不相信他对此负责。”
国会通过了一项法律，迫使特朗普政府发布该情报报告的非机密版本，但特朗普拒绝了。相反，他对17名沙特官员实施了经济处罚，对21名官员实施了签证禁令——将美国的处罚限制在沙特政府确定的官员范围内。
11名沙特官员受到审判，5名被判处死刑，直到哈肖吉家族原谅他们，并将他们的刑期减为20年监禁。
现在，拜登的团队表示，他们将在报告发布后“依法办事”，并于周四承诺推进对哈肖吉遇害的问责。
“届时，这份报告的发表将是朝着这个方向迈出的重要一步。...然而，我不希望问责就此结束，”国务院发言人内德·普莱斯告诉美国广播公司新闻。
普莱斯和白宫新闻秘书珍·普萨基拒绝讨论可能性，但普萨基告诉美国广播公司新闻，“有一系列行动摆在桌面上。”
Biden speaks with Saudi king ahead of Khashoggi report's release
President Joe Biden spoke to King Salman of Saudi Arabia on Thursday -- the two leaders' first call amid pressure on his new administration tochange the U.S. relationshipwith the kingdom over its alleged human rights abuses.
In particular, the Biden administration is set to release an unclassified report from the U.S. intelligence communityon the killing ofJamal Khashoggi, a Washington Post columnist and Saudi dissident who lived in Virginia. The report, whose release is required by law, is expected to implicate Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, King Salman's son and heir to the Saudi throne.
The White House said until Biden called the king, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence would not release the report, which is set to further roil relations between Washington and its longtime partner in the Middle East.
But Biden appears to be interested in threading the needle -- promoting accountability for Khashoggi's grisly murder and the Saudi government's air war in neighboring Yemen, while also maintaining the close ties with a key regional partner.
That will be harder to do as Prince Mohammed, sometimes referred to by his initials: MBS, takes tighter control of the kingdom. Heralded by some for reforming the Saudi economy and cultural and legal frameworks, including by letting women drive, he's also been condemned for a brutal crackdown on political enemies and human rights activists, including women like Loujain al Hathloul whofought for the right to drive.
During Thursday's call, Biden "affirmed the importance the United States places on universal human rights and the rule of law," according to the White House. But he also "told King Salman he would work to make the bilateral relationship as strong and transparent as possible. The two leaders affirmed the historic nature of the relationship and agreed to work together on mutual issues of concern and interest."
Neither Khashoggi nor the report was mentioned in the White House readout of the call, although it's possible the two still discussed the issue.
The Saudi government has denied a role in Khashoggi's murder -- saying a "rogue"team of government agentswere responsible and that MBS was not involved.
Pressure has grown on the Biden administration to shift the relationship with the Saudis after former President Donald Trump shielded its government from Congress' ire over Khashoggi's murder and its campaign in Yemen, which has drawn accusations of war crimes from the United Nations.
Trump used his veto power on multiple occasions to protect Saudi interests, including to sustain U.S. support for the Saudi coalition in Yemen and to bypass Congress to sell arms to the coalition. Along with top advisers like Secretary of StateMike Pompeo, he continually cast doubt on the U.S. intelligence communities' finding about the crown prince's role.
But in November 2018, just weeks after Khashoggi was murdered and dismembered by Saudi agents in the kingdom's consulate in Istanbul, U.S. lawmakers were briefed on the classified version of the intelligence report. Republicans and Democrats have said repeatedly that MBS played a role.
"We also have a crown prince that's out of control," Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., then the chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said at the time. "Whether there's a smoking gun, I don't think there is anybody in the room that doesn't believe he was responsible for it."
Congress passed a law to force the Trump administration to release an unclassified version of that intelligence report, but Trump refused. Instead, he sanctioned 17 Saudi officials with financial penalties and 21 officials with visa bans -- limiting U.S. penalties to the officials identified by the Saudi government.
Eleven Saudi officials were put on trial and five were sentenced to death until the Khashoggi family forgave them and their sentences were commuted to 20 years in jail.
Now, Biden's team said they will "follow the law" with the report's release -- and pledged Thursday to advance accountability for Khashoggi's killing.
"The release of this report, when that time comes, will be an important step in that direction. ... I wouldn't expect the accountability to stop there however," State Department spokesperson Ned Price told ABC News.
Price and White House press secretary Jen Psaki declined to discuss possibilities, but Psaki told ABC News there are a "range of actions that are on the table."
