Magnitsky Act Architect Wants Law Used Against Saudi Arabia Over Khashoggi Disappearance

President Trump said Thursday there would be "very severe" consequences if the missing Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi was killed by Saudi Arabia. A bipartisan group of senators has been pushing for sanctions on Saudi officials in accordance with the Magnitsky Act.

The law is named after Sergei Magnitsky, a Russian lawyer who died in prison in 2009 after exposing government fraud. He was working with American businessman Bill Browder, who has been watching the Khashoggi disappearance unfold.

Here & Now's Peter O'Dowd speaks with Browder (@Billbrowder), head of the Magnitsky Justice Campaign, who's backing calls for the Magnitsky Act to be used against Saudi Arabia. Browder has also been a vocal critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"The Magnitsky Act basically has two functions: It freezes the assets and bans the visas of people who are sanctioned under it, and in particular what it does is it puts people on something called the U.S. Treasury [Office of Foreign Assets Control] sanctions list, and what that means is that, if you have money anywhere in the world, no bank will move your money anymore after you get put on that sanctions list.

"It doesn't even matter if you have money in America. If you have money in a Dubai bank or in a Chinese bank, that bank doesn't want to be in violation of U.S. Treasury sanctions, and your money gets frozen. And these guys in Saudi Arabia who are accused of murdering Khashoggi have a lot of money, and have that money all over the world. This would be a devastating shock for them if they get added to the Magnitsky list."