Donald Trump says CIA assessment ‘premature’, full Khashoggi report on Tuesday
The US State Department also challenged the CIA findings without referencing it directly and said reports that the United States had reached a final conclusion were “inaccurate”.
President Donald Trump on Saturday said that CIA’s assessment that Saudi crown prince Mohammad bin-Salman ordered the murder of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi was “premature” and that he expects a “very full report” on it on Tuesday.
The US State Department also challenged the CIA findings without referencing it directly and said reports that the United States had reached a final conclusion were “inaccurate”.
Based on intercepts and audio recordings, CIA was widely reported by multiple media news publications as concluding that the crown prince had ordered the Khashoggi’s killing, contradicting denials of his role by Riyadh and claims that the journalist was killed by rogue actors who went way beyond their brief.
“They haven’t assessed anything yet. It’s too early,” Trump said of CIA’s finding during a stop while visiting fire-ravaged areas in California. “That was a very a premature report.”
He said there will be a “very full report” on Monday or Tuesday and subsequently put it down to Tuesday.
State department spokesperson Heather Nauert said in a separate statement. “Recent reports indicating that the US government has made a final conclusion are inaccurate.”
“There remain numerous unanswered questions with respect to the murder of Mr. Khashoggi.”
The Trump administration has struggled to deal with the murder of Khashoggi. While condemning the murder as “horrible” and vowing to punish those responsible, the president has sought to shield the crown prince, who is widely believed to have played a much larger role than the kingdom will ever acknowledge. The president also never fails to mention that Saudi Arabia is a US ally — called it a “spectacular ally” on Saturday.
Khashoggi, who had been critical of Mohammad’s policies, had lived in the United States in self-imposed exile. He was last seen entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey on October 2, where he had gone to collect some documents needed for his upcoming marriage to a Turkish woman.
He is alleged to have been killed by a hit-team of 15 men who had arrived from Saudi Arabia in a government plane. They were apparently led by a senior aide to the crown prince, Maher Mutrab, who is among the 17 sanctioned last week by the United States for alleged involvement in the murder.
After the killing, one of the team members was was heard, on recording by a listening device planted in the consulate by the Turks, telling a close adviser to the crown prince, Saudi al-Qahtani, “tell your boss” it’s done. The Turkish government has shared this recording with the governments of multiple countries. Al-Qahtani is also on the US list of sanctioned Saudis.
There is no direct evidence linking Mohammad to the Khashoggi’s killing and his body has not been found, something that President Trump has pointed to his aides repeatedly, according to reports.