Trump says Saudi king denies knowledge of missing journalist
Posted October 15, 2018 8:04 am.
Last Updated October 15, 2018 8:05 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Monday he had spoken with Saudi Arabia’s king, who “denies any knowledge” of what happened to the Saudi journalist who disappeared after entering the kingdom’s consulate in Istanbul two weeks ago. Trump said he had dispatched Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to the region.
What did happen to Jamal Khashoggi, according to the king? Trump said, “He didn’t really know. Maybe I don’t want to get into his mind, but it sounded to me like maybe these could have been rogue killers — I mean, who knows?”
RELATED: President Trump will call Saudi king about Khashoggi disappearance
Trump has been under pressure to take action on the suspected murder of journalist Khashoggi, a Saudi citizen who has been living and writing in the United States, including columns critical of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Turkish officials say that they believe Saudi agents killed and dismembered Khashoggi after he entered the consulate and that Turkey has audio and video recordings of it.
The kingdom has called the allegations “baseless” but has offered no evidence the writer left the consulate.
On Monday, Trump tweeted that he “just spoke to the King of Saudi Arabia who denies any knowledge of whatever may have happened ‘to our Saudi Arabian citizen.’ He said that they are working closely with Turkey to find answer. I am immediately sending our Secretary of State to meet with King!”
White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow declined to speculate on what Trump might do after the president promised “severe punishment” in a “60 Minutes” interview if the U.S. determines that Khashoggi was indeed killed inside the Saudi consulate.
