CIA assessment of Khashoggi murder ‘premature but possible’

WASHINGTON/ MALIBU: President Donald Trump called a CIA assessment blaming Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi “very premature” and said he will receive a complete report on the case tomorrow.

Trump, on a trip to California, said the killing “should never have happened”. The report will explain who the US government believes killed Khashoggi and what the overall impact of his murder is, Trump said. It was unclear who is producing the report.

Trump also said the CIA finding that Mohammed was responsible for the killing was “possible”.

Trump made the remarks hours after the State Department said the government was still working on determining responsibility for the death of Khashoggi, a US-based Washington Post columnist.

“Recent reports indicating that the US government has made a final conclusion are inaccurate,” State Department spokesman Heather Nauert said in a statement.

“There remains numerous unanswered questions with respect to the murder of Mr Khashoggi.”

Nauert said the State Department will continue to seek facts and work with other countries to hold those involved in the journalist’s killing accountable “while maintaining the important strategic relationship between the United States and Saudi Arabia”.

Trump discussed the CIA assessment by phone with the agency’s director, Gina Haspel, and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo while flying to California on Saturday, White House spokesman Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters.

The CIA had briefed other parts of the US government, including Congress, on its assessment, sources said on Friday, a development that complicates Trump’s efforts to preserve ties with the key US ally. — Reuters