Murphy said he was asking the Committee on Foreign Investment -- which reviews acquisitions of U.S. businesses by foreign buyers -- "to conduct an investigation into the national security implications of Saudi Arabia's purchase of Twitter."

On Friday, Saudi Arabia's Kingdom Holding Company and the private office of Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal said they will continue their ownership of Twitter shares valued at $1.89 billion, according to a statement tweeted by Prince Alwaleed.

(Reporting by David Shepardson, Editing by Franklin Paul)