BFF-44 Trump accuses Saudi of ‘lies’ over Khashoggi killing

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Trump accuses Saudi of ‘lies’ over Khashoggi killing

WASHINGTON, Oct 21, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – US President Donald Trump has
accused Saudi Arabia of lying about the killing of Jamal Khashoggi, his
strongest comments to date on the affair as pressure builds on the
administration to strike a tougher line.

In an interview with the Washington Post published late Saturday, Trump
stepped back from his stance that Saudi Arabia’s latest explanation for the
death of the journalist inside their consulate in Istanbul was credible, but
said he remained confident in the leadership of Crown Prince Mohammed bin
Salman.

“Obviously there’s been deception and there’s been lies,” he said on the
shifting accounts offered by Riyadh.

Saudi officials originally said Khashoggi, who entered the diplomatic
mission on October 2, had left unharmed, before announcing Friday he was
killed inside the building in what they said was an altercation.

“Their stories are all over the place,” added Trump.

But Trump stopped far short of calling for Prince Mohammed, the kingdom’s
de facto ruler, to be replaced, emphasizing as he has before how important
the US-Saudi relationship is to Washington’s regional strategic goals.

He described the 33-year-old prince, widely known as MBS, as a “strong
person; he has very good control.”

“He’s seen as a person who can keep things under check,” added Trump. “I
mean that in a positive way.”

Trump added that he has yet to be shown any evidence by intelligence
officials that would make him believe MBS had any direct role.

“Nobody has told me he’s responsible. Nobody has told me he’s not
responsible. We haven’t reached that point. I haven’t heard either way,” the
president said.

“There is a possibility he found out about it afterward. It could be
something in the building went badly awry. It could be that’s when he found
out about it. He could have known they were bringing him back to Saudi
Arabia.”

Despite Trump’s apparent equivocations, pressure has been building within
his Republican Party to take a harsher stance.

Speaking on ABC on Sunday, Republican Congressman Peter King said:
“There’s no way that one person, an overweight civilian, has to be killed.
They could have brought him down with no trouble at all,” adding he believed
there was “an intent to kill.”

Asked if he thought Prince Mohammed was behind the killing, a fellow
Republican, Senator Bob Corker, who is chairman of the Foreign Relations
Committee, told CNN: “Yes, I think he did it. Let’s finish this
investigation.”

BSS/AFP/BZC/2010HRS