AP
Pennsylvania Sen. Bob Casey’s campaign has opted to cycle out an attack against his rival that the widow of late US-based journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who was tortured and dismembered inside a Saudi consulate in 2018, “pled” with them to take down.
The scathing ad had accused Republican Senate hopeful David McCormick of pushing to keep his hedge fund’s ties to Saudi Arabia, despite the US ally being tied to the brutal murder.
“There is no dispute that David McCormick demanded his hedge fund show support and loyalty to Mr. Khashoggi’s murderers, all to protect his own business interests,” spokesperson Maddy McDaniel told The Post.
“We have the utmost sympathy for what Mrs. Khashoggi has experienced. The ad will be cycled out next week, as was previously planned.”
McDaniel cited a Wall Street Journal report about how McCormick — then co-CEO of Bridgewater Associates, the world’s largest hedge fund — faced internal controversy over the firm’s Saudi investors.
Casey’s team had charged in the ad that McCormick “demanded his hedge fund stay loyal to the murderers to protect their investments in Saudi Arabia.”
Jamal’s widow, Hanan Elatr Khashoggi, was vexed by the ad and noted that it erroneously described him as an American despite him being a Saudi citizen.
“The commercial is a very painful reminder of how my husband died, and as you can imagine, I have been traumatized every day for the past 6 years,” she said in an email to Casey’s Senate office, according to Politico.
“I take no position on the politics of your Senate race, but I am dedicated to correcting misconceptions about my late husband.”
She revealed that she spoke with Casey’s team and “pled with them to take down the ad immediately.”
“Instead of doing the right thing and abiding by my wishes, they are letting the ad continue. There is a difference between not renewing an ad to let it run its cycle and pulling down an ad right away,” she added.
Her attorney, Randa Fahmy sent a letter to local stations asking them not to run it. Fahmy has described herself as a “good friend” of McCormick.
“Bob Casey got caught in another lie, this time taking advantage of a widow. That’s one more reason voters are going to fire him in November,” McCormick said in a statement.
Multiple investigations tied the alleged torture and dismemberment of Khashoggi inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s inner circle.
The CIA even concluded that MBS ordered the attack on Khashoggi, who had been a fierce critic. Salman denies that.
Khashoggi’s death sparked an international uproar and put a strain on US relations with Riyadh.
Pennsylvania’s Senate race is being closely watched. Casey is averaging a 3-point lead over McCormick, per the latest RealClearPolitics aggregate of polls.
The Cook Political Report’s election hamstringer currently rates the race as lean Democratic.