Donald Trump defended Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman today over the 2018 killing of Washington Post opinion columnist Jamal Khashoggi saying “things happen”
Trump said today he doesn’t hold the Saudi leader responsible for the gruesome murder even though the CIA concluded in November 2018 that the Saudi crown prince ordered Khashoggi’s assassination, based on audio recordings, intercepted phone calls and other intelligence links. Continue reading “Trump Defends Saudi Prince Over Journalist’s Death: ‘Things Happen’”
After spending days accepting Saudi Arabia’s explanation for the death of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, despite the skepticism of world leaders, Donald Trump changed course saying, “Somebody really messed up.”
According to HuffPost, Trump told reporters at the White House today, “They had a very bad original concept. It was carried out poorly and the cover-up was one of the worst cover-ups in the history of cover-ups. Very simple. Bad deal, should have never been thought of. Somebody really messed up.”
Full Trump quote on Saudi killing of Khashoggi:
“They had a very bad original concept. It was carried out poorly and the cover-up was one of the worst cover-ups in the history of cover-ups. Very simple. Bad deal, should have never been thought of. Somebody really messed up.”
On Tuesday, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey told lawmakers in his country that he did not believe Saudi Arabia’s initial explanation for Khashoggi’s death and openly accused Saudi officials of carrying out premeditated murder.
“The information obtained so far and the evidence found shows that Khashoggi was murdered in a ferocious manner,” Erdogan said.
Trump, who’s known for his own blunt style, called Erdogan’s comments “pretty rough.”
Trump also indicated that Congress should decide how to proceed on the matter.
“In terms of what we ultimately do, I’m going to leave it very much — in conjunction with me — I’m going to leave it up to Congress,” Trump said.
In an appearance on Fox News today, Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir presented the new version of events that led to the death of journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Turkey.
As expected for days, the new version describes the murder of Khashoggi as “a rogue operation.”
Adel al-Jubeir told the Fox News viewers that Khashoggi was killed in a “criminal” act committed by individuals operating “outside the scope of their authority.”
“There obviously was a tremendous mistake made and what compounded the mistake was the attempt to try to cover up. That is unacceptable in any government,” he said.
The foreign minister denies any involvement by the crown prince of Saudi Arabia.
Bob Corker says he thinks Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince was behind the death of Jamal Khashoggi: “Do I think he did it? Yes, I think he did it. Let’s finish this investigation.” (via CNN) pic.twitter.com/4iK0czLIPt
After days and days of defending the Saudi Arabian government, Donald Trump is finally shifting his position (in the face of mounting evidence) regarding the Saudi’s story regarding the death of journalist Jamal Khashoggie.
President Trump retreated late Saturday from his stance that Saudi Arabia’s story about the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi inside their Turkish consulate was credible but still gave a strong vote of confidence to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, arguing the United States’ relationship with the kingdom is key to his administration’s policy objectives in the Middle East.
“Obviously there’s been deception and there’s been lies,” Trump said in an interview with The Washington Post when pressed on the many discrepancies in the changing accounts from the Saudis. “Their stories are all over the place.”
He did not call for the ouster of Mohammed and instead praised his leadership, calling the prince “a strong person, he has very good control.” During the 20-minute interview, Trump repeatedly talked about the importance of the economic ties between the United States and Saudi Arabia and Mohammed’s role in that relationship.
During an appearance on Fox News this morning, Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky said that he does not believe Saudi Arabia’s explanation that Khashoggi died in a fist fight gone wrong at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2.
“There’s no way 15 people were sent to Turkey to kill a dissident without the approval of the crown Prince,” Paul said, referencing the fifteen Saudis reportedly involved in Khashoggi’s death.
“I think we really need to discontinue our arms sales to Saudi Arabia and have a long and serious discussion about whether or not they want to be an ally or they want to be an enemy,” added Paul.
