Trump misses probe deadline
Washington, Feb. 9: President Donald Trump appeared prepared on Saturday to ignore the US Congress's deadline to determine who ordered the assassination of Jamal Khashoggi amid new revelations that Saudi Arabia's crown prince spoke of going after the journalist “with a bullet.”
With pressure mounting in Washington and Riyadh, the US president theoretically had until the end of the day to designate those responsible for the murder of the Washington Post columnist, who was strangled and dismembered by Saudi agents in the kingdom's consulate in Istanbul on October 2.
The time limit was imposed by Democratic and Republican senators, who wrote to the president on October 10 calling for an investigation into the killing. Under a human rights accountability law the letter gives the president 120 days to designate and punish those responsible. But no definitive action was expected on Saturday from the administration.
“Consistent with the previous administration's position and the constitutional separation of powers, the president maintains his discretion to decline to act on congressional committee requests when appropriate,”
■ TIME LIMIT was imposed by Democratic and Republican senators on Oct. 10.
■ LETTER GIVES 120 days to designate and punish guilty.
a senior administration official said.
“The US Government will continue to consult with Congress and work to hold accountable those responsible for Jamal Khashoggi's killing.”
The State Department said on Friday Washington had already taken action, pointing to last year's revocation of visas for nearly two dozen Saudi officials and the freezing of assets of 17 others. Some members of Congress have publicly stated that they suspect the powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was directly responsible for the killing, based on the CIA's conclusions.
A bipartisan group of senators on Friday proposed a bill that would cut off some weapons sales and require sanctions against any Saudis involved in Khashoggi's killing. Trump has publicly said he is not concerned whether Prince Mohammed was involved.