Who killed Khashoggi? US to share full report
IN TWO DAYS’ TIME US intel believes Saudi crown prince ordered the murder WASHINGTON:Donald
Trump said his administration will get a full report in the next two days about the death of a Saudi journalist, which has created a diplomatic conundrum for the US president: How to admonish Riyadh for the killing yet maintain strong ties with a close ally in the Middle East.
“We’ll be having a very full report over the next two days, probably Monday or Tuesday,” Trump said on Saturday. That will include “who did it”, he said.
Reporters asked Trump about the death of Jamal Khashoggi, a columnist for The Washington Post who was slain on October 2 inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.
Saudi Arabia’s top diplomat has said Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman had “absolutely” nothing to do with it.
American intelligence agencies have concluded that the crown prince ordered the killing in the Saudi consulate in Turkey, according to a US official familiar with the assessment.
The official was not authorised to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. Others familiar with the case caution that while it’s likely that the crown prince was involved in the death, there continue to be questions about what role he played.
“The US government is determined to hold all those responsible for the killing of Jamal Khashoggi accountable,” the US State Department said in a state- OCTOBER 2: Jamal Khashoggi enters the Saudi consulate in Istanbul to collect documents ahead of his wedding. When he doesn’t emerge from the embassy, his fiancee, Hatice Cengiz, calls up friends OCTOBER 3: Mohammad bin Salman, Saudi Crown Prince, says Khashoggi had left the consulate "a few minutes or an hour" after he arrived
OCTOBER 6: Turkish officials say Khashoggi was killed inside the consulate
OCTOBER 15: Turkish investigators enter the consulate to conduct a search
OCTOBER 19: Saudi Arabia admits Khashoggi died in the consulate. The country's public prosecutor says he died after an altercation and a fistfight. Saudis say they detained 18 people in connection to the death OCTOBER 21: Saudi Arabia's ment. “Recent reports indicating that the US government has made a final conclusion are inaccurate. There remain numerous unanswered questions with respect to the murder of Mr. Khashoggi.”
The statement added, “The US government has taken decisive A woman holding a banner of Jamal Khashoggi attends a symbolic funeral prayer at Fatih mosque in Istanbul. foreign minister says Khashoggi came from the highest levels of was killed in a rogue operation the Saudi government inside the consulate NOVEMBER 11: Erdogan lets Saudi OCTOBER 31: Turkish prosecutor Arabia, US, Germany, France and says Khashoggi was strangled UK listen to tape recordings after he entered the consulate, taken during Khashoggi's killing then dismembered NOVEMBER 17: CIA reportedly NOVEMBER 2: Turkey's President concludes the Saudi crown
Recep Tayyip Erdogan says the prince had ordered Khashoggi’s order to murder Khashoggi murder. measures against the individuals responsible, including visa and sanctions actions.
“We will continue to explore additional measures to hold those accountable who planned, led and were connected to the murder. And, we will do that while maintaining the important strategic relationship between the US and Saudi Arabia.”
Intelligence officials have been providing information to Trump about the death for weeks and he was briefed again by phone on Saturday by CIA director Gina Haspel and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.