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President Donald Trump has disputed the fact that US intelligence agencies have concluded that the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia has ordered the murder of US chronicler Jamal Khashoggi, while still extolling the importance of maintaining economic ties with the country. Kingdom.
A confidential report by the CCH on Khashoggi's death indicates that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman "could have done it," Trump said Thursday, referring to a request for the journalist's assassination. But the CIA "did not conclude" that the prince had made this request, the president told reporters at a press conference in his resort town of Mar-a-Lago in Florida.
"You can conclude that it may or may not be the case," Trump said of the CIA report. "Whether he did it or not, he denies it vehemently."
Several news agencies, including the Washington Post and the New York Times, reported that the CIA had concluded that the Crown Prince had ordered Khashoggi's assassination in Istanbul last month, contradicting the government's assertion Saudi that he was not involved. CIA officials have great confidence in their conclusion, which is based on multiple sources of intelligence, reported the newspaper Post on November 16.
"They did not come to a conclusion," Trump said Thursday. "They have feelings in some ways."
The president added that he did not know if anyone could ever be able to conclude that the Crown Prince asked for the murder.
Trump's comments come after several days of affirming his support for Saudi Arabia. Trump reiterated his support Thursday, praising the country for being a strong ally, buying military equipment from US companies and keeping oil prices low.
"Do people really want me to give up hundreds of thousands of jobs?" Said Trump. "Frankly, if we respect this norm, we could not have anyone as an ally, because let's look at what is going on around the world."
Congress leaders were more skeptical of the Crown Prince's denials. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations Chairman Bob Corker and Democrat Bob Menendez, a senior panelist, on Tuesday invoked a human rights law to demand an official US determination on the prince's responsibility in the assassination of Khashoggi. Such a determination could result in additional penalties.
"If you want to witness a global depression, you just have to raise the price of oil by $ 50 a barrel," said Trump. "We want low oil prices and Saudi Arabia has really done a good job."
