The Biden administration on Thursday suggested that Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman be granted immunity from a lawsuit filed against him over the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
In a court filing, the administration noted the crown prince’s appointment as prime minister in September, which they said made him “the sitting head of government of a foreign state.”
“Under common law principles of immunity articulated by the Executive Branch in the exercise of its Constitutional authority over foreign affairs and informed by customary international law, Prime Minister Bin Salman as a sitting head of government is immune while in office from the jurisdiction of the United States District Court in this suit,” the court filing reads….