Trump says it looks like missing journalist dead
WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump said Thursday it appears that Jamal Khashoggi, the missing Saudi journalist and U.S. resident, is dead.
“It certainly looks that way to me; it’s very sad,” Trump said before boarding Air Force One for a trip to Missoula, Montana, where he will host a campaign rally.
Trump vowed “very severe” consequences for Saudi Arabia if its government is found responsible for the journalist’s death. “I mean, it’s bad, bad stuff.”
The president did not elaborate on what action his administration could take. He has said he doesn’t want to disrupt the long-standing U.S. alliance with Saudi Arabia.
The Saudi journalist, who wrote critically of the kingdom and royal family for The Washington Post, has been missing since entering the Saudi Consulate on Oct. 2 to obtain paperwork to marry his fiancee. Turkish officials said he was murdered inside the building, but Saudi officials denied that.
Before leaving for Montana, Trump said he wanted to wait for the results of Saudi and Turkish investigations before deciding what steps the United States should take. Lawmakers suggested a range of actions, from economic sanctions on Saudi Arabia to blocking U.S. weapons sales to the Middle East ally.
After a whirlwind emergency trip to Saudi Arabia and Turkey, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told Trump earlier Thursday that the United States needs to give the Saudis “a few more days” to investigate Khashoggi’s fate.
“We made clear to them that we take this matter very seriously,” Pompeo said after meeting with Trump to brief him on his two-day trip, during which he discussed Khashoggi’s disappearance with top government officials. “They assured me that they will conduct a complete and thorough investigation.”
Pompeo did not say whether he believes Khashoggi is dead.
“There are lots of stories out there about what has happened,” Pompeo said. “We just are going to allow the process to move forward, allow the facts to unfold.”
It’s been more than two weeks since Khashoggi, a Saudi dissident who obtained U.S. residency last year over fears for his safety, vanished after visiting the kingdom’s consulate in Istanbul.
Turkish officials claimed there are gruesome audio and video recordings of Khashoggi being beheaded and dismembered within minutes of entering the compound.
Saudi Arabia called the allegations against it completely “baseless.”
In the midst of the diplomatic crisis, Saudi Arabia transferred $100 million to the State Department – a longpromised contribution to help stabilize parts of Syria that were liberated from the Islamic State, also known as ISIS.
The donation came as Pompeo landed in Riyadh to meet with Saudi officials.
“We always expected the contribution to be finalized in the fall timeframe,” said Dan McGurk, the president’s special envoy for the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS. “The specific transfer of funds has been long in process and has nothing to do with other events or the secretary’s visit.”