Washington Post told contributor to stop lobbying for Saudis or cease writing for paper

The Washington Post warned a prominent Republican lobbyist that he could no longer write for the paper if he continued working on behalf of Saudi Arabia, a Post spokesperson confirmed to The Hill on Tuesday.

The newspaper told Ed Rogers, the chairman of the BGR Group, that he could no longer contribute opinion pieces to the paper’s PostPartisan blog if he continued his work. 

The Post issued the ultimatum after U.S.-based Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, a frequent contributor to the Post, disappeared after entering a Saudi consulate in Istanbul.

Politico first reported the news about Rogers. He declined to comment to the news outlet. 

{mosads}Khashoggi has not been seen since he went into the building on Oct. 2 and Turkish authorities have alleged that the Saudi government had the dissident journalist murdered and dismembered while inside.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has said that he has no knowledge of what happened to Khashoggi.

According to Politico, the Saudis were important clients for Rogers, but BGR announced Monday that it would cease lobbying for the administration of Crown Prince Mohammed.

The Post has advocated vigorously for Saudi Arabia be held accountable for Khashoggi’s fate.

The paper’s CEO and publisher Fred Ryan said Tuesday that “it cannot be business as usual” with the kingdom until they explain what happened.

“It has been two weeks since Jamal Khashoggi disappeared in the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul,” Ryan wrote.

“The government of Saudi Arabia owes the Khashoggi family and the world a full and honest explanation of everything that happened to him, and we support the requests from Jamal’s family and the United Nations for an independent internal investigation.”