By ELLEN KNICKMEYER Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — The chairman of a Senate investigations subcommittee is subpoenaing Saudi officials for documents on the kingdom’s new golf partnership with the PGA Tour. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a Connecticut Democrat, said Wednesday that Saudi Arabia had to be more transparent about what he said was its $35 billion in investments in the U.S. The move is the latest to challenge Saudi Arabia’s assertion that as a foreign government it enjoys sovereign immunity from some U.S. courts and institutions. That includes when it comes to disclosing information related to its golf investments. The Saudi Embassy did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The chairman of a Senate investigations subcommittee issued a subpoena Wednesday for documents on Saudi Arabia’s new golf partnership with the PGA Tour, saying the kingdom had to be more transparent about what he said was its $35 billion in investments in the United States.
The move is the latest to challenge Saudi Arabia’s assertion that as a foreign government that enjoys sovereign immunity from many U.S. laws, it is not obliged to provide information on the golf deal.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal’s subpoena comes after the Connecticut Democrat’s unsuccessful requests to the head of Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, Yassir al Rumayyan, to testify before Blumenthal’s Senate permanent select investigations subcommittee about the Saudi-PGA golf deal.
The surprise deal, which would join the venerable PGA Tour and a rival Saudi-funded golf start-up, LIV, was announced in June. It overnight gave the Saudi government a major role in one of the main institutions of U.S. sport. Terms of the agreement are still being worked out.
The Saudi sovereign wealth fund, called the Public Investment Fund, or PIF, is controlled by the Saudi government.
