The Biden administration’s approach, while not as forthright as critics of MBS would like, nonetheless stands in sharp contrast to former President Donald Trump’s messaging about the killing. Trump denied that the intelligence on MBS’s role was clear, telling reporters, “Maybe he did, maybe he didn’t.” Trump later bragged to journalist Bob Woodward that he had helped MBS evade accountability, saying that he “saved his ass.”

In a statement, Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., chair of the House Intelligence Committee, said that the report was long overdue and the administration should take further steps towards accountability. “It should not have taken this long for the United States to publicly share what we knew about the brutal murder of a U.S. resident and journalist and this report underscores why Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s repeated claims that he was either unknowing or uninvolved in this heinous crime are in no way credible,” Schiff said. “The administration should take further steps to diminish the United States’s reliance on Riyadh and reinforce that our partnership with the Kingdom is a not a blank check.”

Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., said in a tweet that Biden’s willingness to assign blame stood in contrast to the Trump administration and brought much-needed accountability. “The coverup is over,” Murphy tweeted. “Thanks to President Biden, we now know the full extent of Saudi Arabia’s role in the murder of Jamal Khashoggi. The new Khashoggi policy is a strong start in resetting our relationship with Saudi Arabia and renewing America’s leadership on human rights.”

Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, praised the report but said that more information should be released about the killing. “There’s no question in my mind there is considerably more to declassify here.”

Agnès Callamard, the United Nations special rapporteur on extrajudicial executions who led a U.N. inquiry into Khashoggi’s death, said in a statement Friday that “the United States government should impose sanctions against the Crown Prince, as it has done for the other perpetrators — targeting his personal assets but also his international engagements. Banishing those responsible for ordering the execution of Jamal Khashoggi from the international stage is an important step towards justice and key to sending the strongest message possible to would-be perpetrators the world over.”