Twitter staff charged with spying for Saudis

Two former Twitter employees gathered private data on prominent critics of the Saudi government, federal prosecutors revealed on Wednesday. In return, Saudi Arabia gave the workers designer watches and moved tens of thousands of dollars into secret bank accounts. Authorities have also accused another Saudi citizen who works for the royal family of spying.

Does this sort of thing happen often? It marks the first time Saudi Arabia has faced espionage accusations in the United States. In 2018, Saudi operatives murdered Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi, a critic of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, inside the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul.

Dig deeper: Read Harvest Prude’s report on the crown prince’s meeting with nine American evangelicals.