Trump promises to call Saudi king about missing scribe
WASHINGTON (AP) — US President Donald Trump has declared that the US will uncover the truth about what happened to journalist and US resident Jamal Khashoggi, whose possible murder in Saudi hands after disappearing in Istanbul has captured worldwide attention. Trump on Friday promised to personally call Saudi Arabia’s King Salman soon about “the terrible situation in Turkey.” “We’re going to find out what happened,” Trump told reporters in Cincinnati where he was headlining a political rally. Khashoggi, a forceful critic of the Saudi government, went missing more than a week ago after entering a Saudi consulate in Istanbul, and Turkish officials have said they believe he was murdered there.
US officials said they are seeking answers from the Saudi government and are not yet accepting the Turkish government’s conclusions.
The Saudis have called accusations that they are responsible for Khashoggi’s disappearance “baseless.” Widely broadcast video shows the 59-year-old writer and The Washington
Post contributor entering the consulate the other Tuesday, but there is none showing him leaving.
Separately, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo spoke to Khashoggi’s fiancée, Hatice Cengiz, who accompanied him to the Saudi consulate, the State Department said on Friday. No details of the conversation were released.