Jamal Khashoggi: Trump brands aftermath of journalist's killing 'worst cover-up ever'

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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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