Trump calls murder on Saudi journalist “worst cover-up operation ever”
US President Donald Trump considers the murder of the Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi “the worst cover-up operation in history”. He said that to the press in the White House.
“Their concept was very bad,” the president said about the execution of the murder by a group of Saudis. “It was not done properly and the cover up operation was the worst in the history of all cover up operations. Anyone who has come up with that idea is in trouble, I think. Rightly so.”
Journalist Jamal Khashoggi was probably murdered on October 2 at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. Although Saudi Arabia has long denied that the man was killed in the building, the authorities said a few days ago that Khashoggi died “in a fight in the consulate”.
According to the Turkish president Erdogan, however, nothing is true about this. He claims that Saudi Arabia had planned the murder of the journalist in advance. At a press conference earlier today, he was talking about a “political murder”. According to Trump, Erdogan was too hard for the Saudis. “He was pretty hard against Saudi Arabia. I want to see evidence first,” says Trump, who added that Saudi Arabia is a good ally of the US.
Sanctions
Trump also reiterated that he does not intend to impose sanctions on Saudi Arabia by stopping the major arms deal with the country. At the moment, the CIA director is in Turkey and Trump, based on her report “quickly decide how he is going to respond” to the scandal.
According to Foreign Minister Mike Pompeo, the United States has already identified a number of suspects for the murder of the Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi. It is about people from circles of the secret service, the royal family, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other Saudi ministries. “We are taking appropriate measures against them, including withdrawing their visa or refusing a visa,” said Pompeo.
“Dissatisfied”
Pompeo did not reveal how many people are involved and their identity. The minister also says that it is being examined whether other sanctions can be imposed on the perpetrators. “With these sanctions, the last thing about the matter has not yet been said,” he warns.
The Minister, like Trump, emphasizes the strong bond with Saudi Arabia. “But let’s be clear: The United States does not tolerate a cruel act like this, to silence Mr. Khashoggi. The President and I are not satisfied with this situation.”
Source: Washington Times, CNN
