Trump disputes findings of CIA in Khashoggi killing
President Donald Trump touched on several subjects in a questionand-answer session with the press Thursday at his private Mar-a-lago club:
Trump disputed reports the CIA has concluded that Saudi Arabia’s crown prince was responsible for journalist Jamal Khashoggi’s killing. “The CIA points it both ways,” Trump said. “Maybe he did, maybe he didn’t.” Asked who should be held responsible for killing, Trump responded that, “Maybe the world should be held accountable ‘cause the world is a vicious place.”
Trump said he had spoken with his daughter Ivanka following news she’d sent hundreds of emails from a private address while serving as a senior White House adviser. Trump said she was “very innocent” and that her situation was very different from the one he’s said his 2016 rival Hillary Clinton should be in jail for.
Trump said he’d be interviewing candidates for potential openings in his administration, but wouldn’t say for what positions. “I’m very happy with my Cabinet and the people working for me and for us. … They’re absolute stars.” But, he said, “there’s always a lot of change. I’ll probably be changing a couple.”
He defended his acting attorney general, Matthew Whitaker, calling him “a highly respected person” who the press had treated nastily.
Trump would not discount the possibility of a partial government shutdown over lawmakers’ refusal to allocate billions of dollars for his promised border wall. “Could there be a shutdown? There certainly could, and it will be about border security, of which the wall is a part,” Trump said