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He stated that he had not heard any cassettes believed to capture Mr. Khashoggi after being tortured and murdered, but he acknowledged, as he has done in recent days, that he "s been trying to kill him. it was likely that he was dead. "At this point, it looks like it may not be or not, and it's very sad," said Mr. Trump. "I think we would have known now."
Saudi Arabia again denied Saturday any involvement in the disappearance of Mr. Khashoggi. Interior Minister, Prince Abdulaziz Bin Saud Bin Naif bin Abdulaziz, said in a statement that "what is circulating under the pretext of the order to kill Jamal are true lies and unfounded allegations against the government and traditions and is in accordance with the laws and international conventions ".
Mr. Brunson's case put pressure on Trump from conservative religious leaders. President, Vice President Mike Pence and members of Congress from both parties took over. The president has imposed sanctions on Turkey and Mr Trump said Saturday that he had talked about the case with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo "at least once a day".
Evangelical pastor who ran the small Resurrection Church in Izmir, Mr Brunson, 50, and his wife Norine lived in Turkey for two dozen years. He was arrested in October 2016, accused of spying and having helped terrorists and sentenced to three years, one month and 15 days in prison. He was released from house arrest in July, and a Turkish judge reduced his sentence, after which Mr. Brunson was quickly expelled from the country.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stressed Saturday that this release was allowed by the courts and not by the government. "Honorable President @realDonaldTrump, as I have always pointed out, Turkish justice has made its decision independently," he said. wrote in Turkish on Twitter. "I hope that Turkey and the United States will continue the cooperation worthy of two allies."
The response in Turkey to the release was further reduced. The government downplayed this event, a sign of its discomfort, given that Mr. Brunson had long been denigrated by the Turkish media as a terrorist and spy.
Yet the anti-American nationalist stance that is increasingly adopted by the Turkish government and by Erdogan himself since the failed 2016 coup will not be easily reversed. "Never come back again!", Saturday launched the pro-government newspaper Yeni Safak after Brunson left the country.
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