President Donald Trump Tuesday criticised rapidly mounting global condemnation of Saudi Arabia over the mystery of missing journalist Jamal Khashoggi, warning of a rush to judgment and echoing the Saudis\u2019 request for patience.<\/p>\n
In an interview with The Associated Press, Trump compared the case of Khashoggi, who Turkish officials have said was murdered in the Saudis\u2019 Istanbul consulate, to the allegations of sexual assault levelled against Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh during his confirmation hearing.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think we have to find out what happened first,\u201d Trump said. \u201cHere we go again with, you know, you\u2019re guilty until proven innocent. I don\u2019t like that. We just went through that with Justice Kavanaugh and he was innocent all the way as far as I\u2019m concerned.\u201d<\/p>\n
Trump\u2019s remarks were his most robust defence yet of the Saudis, a US ally he has made central to his Mideast agenda. They put the president at odds with other key allies and with some leaders in his Republican Party who have condemned the Saudi leadership for what they say is an obvious role in the case. Trump appeared willing to resist the pressure to follow suit, accepting Saudi denials and their pledge to investigate.<\/p>\n
After speaking with the king, Trump floated the idea that \u201crogue killers\u201d may have been responsible for the disappearance. The president told AP Tuesday that that description was informed by his \u201cfeeling\u201d from his conversation with Salman, and that the King did not use the term.<\/p>\n
Also Tuesday, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met with the king and crown prince in Riyadh and said the Saudis had already started a \u201cserious and credible investigation\u201d and seemed to suggest it could lead to people within the kingdom. The secretary of state noted that the Saudi leaders, while denying knowledge of anything that occurred inside the consulate, had committed to accountability \u201cincluding for Saudi Arabia\u2019s senior leaders or senior officials.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pompeo was heading next to Turkey, where officials have accused the Saudis of using a 15-member team to kill Khashoggi inside the consulate.<\/p>\n
Trump said he hoped the Saudis\u2019 own investigation of Khashoggi\u2019s disappearance would be concluded in \u201cless than a week.\u201d<\/p>\n
In the meantime, there were signs at home that Trump\u2019s party was growing uncomfortable with his willingness to defend the Saudis.<\/p>\n
In an interview with Fox News, a prominent Trump ally in the Senate called on Saudi Arabia to reject the crown prince, known as MBS, who rose to power last year and has aggressively sought to soften the kingdom\u2019s image abroad and attract foreign investment.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis guy has got to go,\u201d said Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, turning to speak to the camera. \u201cSaudi Arabia, if you\u2019re listening, there are a lot of good people you can choose, but MBS has tainted your country and tainted himself.\u201d<\/p>\n
Khashoggi, a Saudi citizen but resident of the United States, has been a contributor to The Washington Post and a critic of Saudi leaders, especially Crown Prince Mohammed.<\/p>\n
International leaders and business executives are severing or rethinking ties to the Saudi government after Khashoggi\u2019s high-profile disappearance. Trump has resisted any action, pointing to huge US weapons deals pending with Saudi Arabia and saying that sanctions could end up hurting the American economy.<\/p>\n
He said it was too early to say whether he endorsed other countries\u2019 actions. \u201cI have to find out what happened,\u201d he said. But his complaint about \u201cguilty until proven innocent\u201d and comparison to the Kavanaugh situation suggested he was giving the Saudis more leeway than other allies.<\/p>\n
Khashoggi went to the consulate on October 2 to get documents for his upcoming marriage to a Turkish woman while his fiancee waited outside. She and Turkish authorities say he never emerged and he has not been heard from since.<\/p>\n
Khashoggi, 59, had been living in the US for a year in self-imposed exile and writing columns for the opinion section of The Washington Post.<\/p>\n
Trump said Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin\u2019s trip to attend a Saudi investment conference is still on but could be cancelled by Friday depending on what the investigation finds.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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