Jamal Khashoggi: Trump brands aftermath of journalist's killing 'worst cover-up ever'
'Somebody really messed up... And they had the worst cover-up ever,' says US president
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Your support makes all the difference.Donald Trump has called the response to the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi ”the worst cover-up” in history as the US announced it would sanction Saudi Arabian officials who are implicated in the death.
Mr Trump was speaking hours after Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan dismissed Riyadh’s efforts to blame Mr Khashoggi’s death, within the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, on “rogue operatives”. Mr Erdogan called for Saudi Arabia to search from “top to bottom” to uncover those behind what he called “savage” premeditated murder of Mr Khashoggi - who was last seen alive entering the consulate on 2 October.
Mr Trump said the Khashoggi case was handled badly by Saudi officials. “Bad deal, should have never been thought of. Somebody really messed up. And they had the worst cover-up ever,” he said. ”Once they thought about it, everything else they did was bad too,” the president added later.
Having spent weeks maintaining that Mr Khashoggi had left the consulate alive, Saudi authorities have said they now believe that Mr Khashoggi - a US resident and Washington Post columnist – was unintentionally killed in a “fight” with “suspects” inside the diplomatic premises. That explanation has been met with scepticism, with Turkish officials having alleged that a 15-man ‘hit squad’ was behind the killing and that Saudi officials had planned the operation for days.
The killing has caused global outrage, with the fallout straining relations between Riyadh and a number of governments who have called for a transparent investigation. The G7 nations issued a fresh call for “a thorough, credible, transparent and prompt investigation” on Tuesday adding Saudi Arabia needed to put in place “measures to ensure that something like this cannot happen again”.
“There should have never been an execution or a cover-up, because it should have never happened,” the president said. He added that he had spoken on Monday with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman who denied having anything to do with Mr Khashoggi’s killing.
The crown prince has come under pressure over his links to some of the suspects identified as allegedly being involved by Turkish officials. On Tuesday, the Saudi foreign ministry released photos of Mr Khashoggi’s son, Salah bin Jamal Khashoggi, meeting the crown prince and King Salman in Riyadh.
The crown prince did receive a standing ovation when he appeared at a major investment conference in Riyadh, a conference that a number of Western government officials and business leaders have withdrawn from because of the controversy.
Shortly after Mr Trump made his comments, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the administration was moving to revoke the visas of Saudi government and intelligence agents suspected of involvement in the death of Khashoggi.
Visa records are confidential and Mr Pompeo was not more specific about who the revocations would affect, but the State Department later said 21 “Saudi suspects” would have visas revoked or would be declared ineligible to enter the US.
The penalties are the first action taken by Washington over the affair, with Mr Trump having faced pressure from Congress to sanction Riyadh.
“These penalties will not be the last word on this matter,” Mr Pompeo said at the State Department. The administration “will continue to hold those responsible accountable. We’re making very clear that the United States does not tolerate this kind of ruthless action to silence Mr. Khashoggi, a journalist, with violence,” he said. “Neither the president or I am happy with this situation.”
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Meanwhile, the Future Investment Initiative forum, a glitzy international trade summit organised by Saudi Arabia that got underway this morning, has been marred by the Khashoggi case.
The event has had to continue without many of its high-profile guests, who have stayed away following the killing, including British international trade secretary Liam Fox, US treasury secretary Steve Mnuchin, International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde and Uber boss Dara Khosrowshahi.
It appears Saudi officials have been unable to let the matter pass without mention at the conference, with the kingdom’s energy minister, Khalid al-Falih, describing Khashoggi’s death as “abhorrent” in a speech.
“As we all know, these are difficult days for us in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia,” he told summit attendees.
“Nobody in the kingdom can justify it or explain it. From the leadership on down, we're very upset at what has happened.”
Britain has said Mr Erdogan’s statement on Tuesday reiterated that many questions remain over Khashoggi’s killing.
“President Erdogan's statement this morning underscores the fact there remain questions which only the Saudis have the answers to,” prime minister Theresa May's spokesman said.
King Salman, Saudi Arabia’s leader, has said the Gulf state intends to hold those who “failed in their duties" to account in relation to the killing of Jamal Khashoggi, “whoever they are”.
Saudi Arabia's foreign minister, Adel al-Jubeir, has pledged mechanisms will be put in place so "something like this can never happen again".
Jeremy Hunt has said he was "deeply concerned" to hear Turkey's president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, describe Khashoggi's murder as pre-meditated and said "the world is still waiting for answers", according to Sky News.
Saudi king Salman received some of Khashoggi's family members in Riyadh, the Saudi state news agency SPA has reported.
The family members included his son, Salah bin Jamal Khahsoggi, and the meeting was also attended by the kingdom's crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman.
The latest from our international correspondent, Borzou Daragahi:
Saudi state TV said the kingdom's crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, was visiting the Khashoggi family in Riyadh.
But sources close to family have told The Independent that three of his children and his ex-wife fled some time ago, first to the United Arab Emirates and then to the US.
A fourth son, Salah Khashoggi, remains in Riyadh but has for months been under a travel ban, the source said.
Khashoggi's son, Salah bin Jamal Khahsoggi, pictured shaking hands with Saudi Arabia's crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman (AFP/Getty Images)
Salah bin Jamal Khashoggi shakes hands with Saudi King Salman
Canada's prime minister has said it would be very hard to scrap an arms deal with Saudi Arabia. Justin Trudeau was under pressure to punish Riyadh after the killing of Khashoggi.
He said the 2014 agreement for light armored vehicles, signed by Canada's previous Conservative government and a Canadian unit of U.S. weapons maker General Dynamics Corp , had been written in such a way that taxpayers would have to pay a large amount of money to end it.
"The contract signed by the previous government ... makes it very difficult to suspend or leave that contract," Trudeau told the Canadian Broadcasting Corp, adding his Liberal administration was looking at a number of options.
He said: "I do not want to leave Canadians holding a billion-dollar bill because we're trying to move forward on doing the right thing."
Mr Trudeau added that he found it "incredibly frustrating" the terms of the contract with the Saudis meant he could not discuss it in more detail.
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