ON THE DAY AUDIO OF THE KILLING OF SAUDI JOURNALIST KHASHOGGI IS LEAKED, TRUMP SAYS U.S. WILL NOT BREAK WITH ITS ‘GREAT ALLY’ SAUDI ARABIA OR ITS CROWN PRINCE. ‘MAYBE HE KNEW, MAYBE HE DIDN’T.’
• President Donald Trump said Tuesday the U.S. will not punish Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at this time nor cut arms sales to Saudi Arabia for the killing of U.S.-based columnist Jamal Khashoggi.
Trump called the killing inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul a “horrible crime” that the U.S. does not condone, but said Saudi Arabia is a “great ally” and cancelling billions in arms sales would only benefit China and Russia, which would be glad to step in and make the sales.
Trump’s decision, announced in a statement released just before he left for the long Thanksgiving weekend in Florida, will disappoint and anger critics who have called for a much firmer rebuke to the kingdom and especially bin Salman.
U.S. intelligence officials have concluded that bin Salman, the kingdom’s de factor leader, ordered the Oct. 2 killing, according to a U.S. official familiar with the assessment. Others familiar with the case caution that while it’s likely that the crown prince had a role there continue to be questions about the degree to which he was involved. Hours before Trump’s statement, the Turkish website Haberturk released the first quotes from the audio tapes purportedly of Khashoggi’s last moments. “Release my arm! What do you think you are doing?” Haberturk says Khashoggi said when he entered the consulate.
The 11-minute audio includes what Haberturk describes as verbal fighting, brawling and torture. The U.S. sanctioned 17 Saudi officials suspected of being responsible for or complicit in the killing, but members of Congress have called for harsher actions. Trump said in his statement that the king of Saudi Arabia and the crown prince “vigorously deny” any knowledge of the planning or execution of the murder. “Our intelligence agencies continue to assess all information, but it could very well be that the crown prince had knowledge of this tragic event — maybe he did and maybe he didn’t!” Trump said. “That being said, we may never know all of the facts surrounding the murder of Mr. Jamal Khashoggi.”