AFP, Riyadh
US officials are intervening in a Canadian lawsuit involving a former Saudi spymaster, documents show, a rare move in a complex legal battle that threatens to blow the lid on sensitive undercover work.
Dr Saad Aljabri, a former intelligence czar exiled in Canada, is embroiled in a bitter royal feud between ousted former crown prince Mohammed Nayef (MBN) and current de facto ruler Prince Mohammed Salman.
Dr Aljabri, long associated with covert Saudi-US counterterrorism operations, claimed last year in a sensational American lawsuit that in 2018, Prince Mohammed Salman sent a kill squad to assassinate him, while detaining two of his children.
In counter lawsuits in the United States and Canada, a slew of Saudi-owned companies accused Dr Aljabri of embezzling billions while working on covert operations under Prince Mohammed Nayef, his former patron who is in detention after being deposed as heir to the throne in a 2017 palace coup.
The legal drama exposes the power plays within the secretive royal family.
But court documents show Washington is also in a bind as it seeks to protect national security secrets without jettisoning long-time ally Aljabri, who needs to produce the evidence of his intelligence collaboration to shore up his defence.
Washington could invoke the "state secrets privilege", which would allow it to resist a court-ordered disclosure of sensitive information in the US, legal experts say. But the US has no such direct influence over Canadian courts.
In a letter to Dr Aljabri's lawyer seen by Agence France-Presse, the US Justice Department's attorney urged him to "postpone all filings" before an Ontario court until Sept 30 to allow Washington time to consider measures to protect its interests.
"Matters involving foreign relations and national security of the United States... require 'delicate' and 'complex' judgments," government attorney Malcolm Ruby wrote in the letter dated June 29.
While Washington had "no position" on the case, it was concerned by "the protection of sensitive national security information", he added.
The letter was copied to Ms Elizabeth Richards, a counsel for Canada's Justice Department, "as a courtesy", suggesting that the US is quietly coordinating with its Canadian counterparts.
