Trump hints at Mohammed bin Salman's involvement in Khashoggi's murder
US President Donald Trump's latest statements on the murder of Saudi Arabia journalist Jamal Khashoggi are in sharp contradiction to his previous ones, as he has now hinted at crown prince Mohammed bin Salman's involvement. POTUS said MbS is running things in Riyadh, and if anyone was involved it must be him. Khashoggi's killing has pushed Saudi to one of its worst international crisis.
Trump says he questioned MbS, 'wants to believe' him
In an interview to Wall Street Journal, Trump said he questioned MbS closely on murder. "My first question to him was, 'Did you know anything about it in terms of the initial planning'," Trump said and he got a denial in response. MbS, apparently, told him it all started at lower levels. When asked if he believed MbS, Trump said, he really wanted to.
Separately, Trump calls its worst cover-up in history
In a separate interaction with the press at White House, Trump called it the worst 'cover-up' in history. "They had a very bad original concept, it was carried out poorly and the cover-up was the worst in the history of cover-ups," he said. Trump also said the person whose idea led to the murder, is and should be, in big trouble.
Mike Pompeo tells visas of Saudis, suspected of murder, revoked
Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said US visas of 21 Saudis allegedly involved in the killing have been revoked. Pompeo said the US doesn't appreciate the violence which led to the ruthless murder of Khashoggi. "These penalties will not be the last word on the matter from the United States. Neither the President nor I am happy with this situation," he said.
Earlier, Trump took Saudi's explanations at face value
Trump's initial statements on Khashoggi led to enormous flak for him and hinted the President doesn't want to upset relations with ally Saudi. He took Saudi's explanation at face value and stressed that Khashoggi wasn't an American citizen when asked why wasn't the FBI probing the journalist's disappearance. He even added that the sacking of top-ranking officials was a "good first step".
