Donald Trump: Worst cover-up ever in Jamal Khashoggi's murder

Donald Trump

Saudi authorities staged the "worst cover-up ever" in the killing of prominent journalist Jamal Khashoggi, President Donald Trump has said as the US announced its first punitive action in the case by revoking the visas of some of the senior Saudi officials involved.

Following a global outrage, Riyadh on Friday in a statement acknowledged that Khashoggi was killed in a fistfight inside the consulate after an interrogation went wrong. Trump offered his most stinging indictment yet of a Saudi effort to silence a dissident journalist, calling the series of events that led to Khashoggi's death "the worst cover up ever."

"They (the Saudis) had a very bad original concept. It was carried out poorly. And the cover-up was one of the worst in the history of cover-ups. Very simple. Bad deal. Should have never been thought of. Somebody really messed up. And they had the worst cover-up ever," Trump said in the Oval Office on Tuesday. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Tuesday that the US had "identified at least some" of the Saudi officials involved in the killing of Khashoggi and was revoking their visas.

"These penalties will not be the last word on this matter from the United States. We will continue to explore additional measures to hold those accountable," Pompeo said, adding, "We're making very clear that the United States does not tolerate this kind of ruthless action to silence Mr Khashoggi, a journalist, through violence." The US will continue to seek all relevant facts, consult the Congress, and work with other nations, to hold accountable those responsible for the killing of Khashoggi, Pompeo told reporters.

MbS speaks out
Saudi Arabia's crown prince Wednesday denounced Khashoggi's murder as a "heinous crime", insisting the kingdom was cooperating with Turkish authorities. "The crime was very painful to all Saudis. And it is painful, heinous to every human being in the world," Prince Mohammed bin Salman said in his first comments since the killing. "Those behind this crime will be held accountable... justice will prevail," he said.

All's not 'well' at Saudi consulate
Saudi authorities denied permission to Turkish police to search a well in the garden of the kingdom's consulate in Istanbul as part of a probe into Khashoggi's murder. Turkey is conducting its own investigation into the killing but it remains unclear where the body of Khashoggi is.

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