Trump speaks with CIA about Khashoggi killing

State Department says U.S. government hasn’t made final conclusion

President Donald Trump on Saturday spoke with CIA Director Gina Haspel after saying he would receive a briefing about the agency’s finding that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ordered the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. The Washington Post first reported Friday that the CIA had assessed with high confidence the Saudi leader’s role, based on multiple sources of intelligence.

“We haven’t been briefed yet,” Trump told reporters on the South Lawn of the White House before leaving to survey damage from wildfires in California.

But the president already had been shown evidence of the prince’s alleged involvement in the killing, and privately he remains skeptical, Trump aides said. He has also looked for ways to avoid pinning the blame on Mohammed, the aides said.

Trump spoke with Haspel and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo during his flight, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders told reporters aboard Air Force One. It was not immediately clear what the officials said, and the president made no immediate comments after landing.

State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert issued a statement Saturday that did not directly address the CIA’S findings about Mohammed or mention him.

“Recent reports indicating that the U.S. government has made a final conclusion are inaccurate,” she said. “There remain numerous unanswered questions with respect to the murder of Mr. Khashoggi. The State Department will continue to seek all relevant facts. In the meantime, we will continue to consult Congress, and work with other nations to hold accountable those involved in the killing of Jamal Khashoggi.”

The Washington Post and other media outlets have reported on the CIA’S assessment but have not said the U.S. government reached a conclusion about what happened to Khashoggi.

The president’s skepticism has put him at odds with the findings of the CIA and senior intelligence officials.

Haspel and John Bolton, the national security adviser, have briefed Trump on the intelligence community’s findings, with Haspel offering the various pieces of evidence that show lieutenants of MBS — as the crown prince is known — were directly involved, according to people familiar with the matter.

In conversations with his intelligence and national security advisers, the president has seized on the question of whether evidence shows that Mohammed “ordered” Khashoggi’s death, asserting that his advisers haven’t offered him definitive proof. He has also asked CIA and State Department officials where Khashoggi’s body is and has grown frustrated that the journalist’s remains haven’t been found.