The CIA concludes that the Saudi Crown Prince has ordered the death of Jamal Khashoggi, sources said


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The US official told CNN Friday that his conclusion was based on a record provided by the Turkish government and other evidence, including US intelligence.

The sources told CNN that the CIA based its assessment on the available information as opposed to specific evidence.

Investigators also believe that an operation like the one that resulted in Khashoggi's death would not have occurred without bin Salman's knowledge, given his control of the government, said a senior US official.

A spokeswoman for the Saudi Embassy said in a statement that "the claims contained in this so-called assessment are false, and we have and continue to hear various theories without seeing the main basis for these speculations."

The Washington Post was the first to report on the CIA's assessment.

According to the Post, US officials have great confidence in the CIA's assessment.

President Donald Trump said Saturday morning that he had not yet been informed of the CIA's assessment, but that he had planned to meet with the CIA. Agency and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on his flight to California.

"From that moment, we were told that (bin Salman) was not playing a role," Trump told the press before boarding Air Force One. "We will have to find out what they have to say."

However, the president has described Saudi Arabia as a "spectacular partner".

"We also have an excellent ally in Saudi Arabia, they give us a lot of jobs, they bring us a lot of work, a lot of economic development," Trump told the press on Saturday, adding that Saudi Arabia had been "really spectacular" allies in terms of jobs and economic development ".

A spokesman for the CIA declined to comment on this publication. The Saudi government has denied bin Salman's involvement in Khashoggi's death.

Vice President Mike Pence said the United States would hold all those involved in the Khashoggi murder accountable. He also said that he wanted to preserve solid relations with Saudi Arabia during the investigation into the murder.

"The murder of Jamal Khashoggi is an atrocity, it is also an affront to a free and independent press and the United States is determined to hold all those responsible for this murder accountable for their actions," said Pence early. Saturday morning in Papua. Guinea on a trip abroad.

Khashoggi, a former Saudi royal insider turned critic of the country's government, was reported missing in October, after going to the Saudi Arabian consulate in Istanbul to obtain papers for his upcoming marriage. The Saudi government has offered changing explanations for Khashoggi's disappearance.

According to US intelligence services analyzed by the CIA, the prince's brother, Khalid bin Salman, made a phone call to Khashoggi, encouraging the journalist to go to the consulate to get the documents, according to the Post Office. Sources told the Post that Khalid had called his brother 's order.

Khalid denied the reports of the post office, say on Twitter that he had never spoken to Khashoggi by phone.

"I have never spoken to him by phone and I have certainly never suggested that he go to Turkey for any reason.I ask the US government to disclose any information regarding this statement," Khalid said. .

He said that his last contact with Khashoggi took place by SMS in October 2017.

Fatimah Baeshen, a spokeswoman for the Saudi embassy in Washington, told the newspaper that Khalid, ambassador of Saudi Arabia to the United States, and Khashoggi had never mentioned "anything linked to going to Turkey ".

The United States punishes 17 Saudis for the murder of Khashoggi
The CIA also examined an audio recording from the Saudi consulate provided by Turkey and a phone call from the consulate after Khashoggi's death, according to the newspaper.

Maher Mutreb, an alleged member of the Saudi strike team and security officer of the Crown Prince, made a phone call to one of bin Salman's key assistants, informing him that the work had been carried out, told the newspaper of people close to the call.

The CIA ignores the location of Khashoggi's remains, according to the Post.

The Trump administration on Thursday imposed 17 sanctions on 17 people for their alleged role in the assassination of Khashoggi. The assassination of Khashoggi created a crisis for the Trump government and drew attention to President Donald Trump's trade relations with Saudi Arabia and the relationship between Ben Salman and his son-in-law and senior advisor, Jared Kushner.
Earlier Thursday, the Saudi prosecutor's office said 11 people had been accused of participating in Khashoggi's death, adding that five of them risked the death penalty for directly participating in the "l & # 39; Order and the execution of the crime ".

Khashoggi was killed after "a fight and a quarrel" at the consulate of Saudi Arabia, the prosecutor's office announced. Prosecutors said that Khashoggi had been tied up and suffered an overdose of sedative who had killed him. Then, according to the prosecutors, his body was dismembered and removed from the consulate by five people.

CNN's Donna Borak, Nicole Gaouette, Sarah El Sirgany, Nada Altaher, Bianca Britton and Jennifer Hauser contributed to this report.

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