Report: CIA Found Saudi Crown Prince ‘Sent At Least 11 Messages’ To Adviser Before And After Khashoggi’s Death
- 5 years ago
A classified CIA report has reportedly found that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was in frequent contact with an aide believed to have orchestrated the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi around the time of Khashoggi’s death.
A classified CIA report has reportedly found that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was in frequent contact with an aide believed to have orchestrated the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi around the time of Khashoggi's death.
The Wall Street Journal is reporting, based on the agency's assessment, that the crown prince "sent at least 11 messages to his closest adviser...in the hours before and after the journalist's death in October."
The Journal also notes that the CIA document says bin Salman had told associates in 2017 that Khashoggi could be lured outside of Saudi Arabia should efforts to bring him back into the country fail--a conversation the CIA says "seems to foreshadow the Saudi operation launched against Khashoggi."
Nevertheless, the report, according to the Journal, goes on to state, "To be clear, we lack direct reporting of the Crown Prince issuing a kill order."
Khashoggi, a Washington Post contributor and frequent critic of Saudi leaders, was killed on October 2 at the consulate in Turkey, notes The Hill.
His death has been a controversial one for President Trump who has seemed to defend the crown prince despite the CIA report that links him to the crime.
"King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman vigorously deny any knowledge of the planning or execution of the murder of Mr. Khashoggi," Trump said last month. "Our intelligence agencies continue to assess all information, but it could very well be that the Crown Prince had knowledge of this tragic event – maybe he did and maybe he didn't!"
The president then went on to call Saudi Arabia "a great ally."
A classified CIA report has reportedly found that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was in frequent contact with an aide believed to have orchestrated the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi around the time of Khashoggi's death.
The Wall Street Journal is reporting, based on the agency's assessment, that the crown prince "sent at least 11 messages to his closest adviser...in the hours before and after the journalist's death in October."
The Journal also notes that the CIA document says bin Salman had told associates in 2017 that Khashoggi could be lured outside of Saudi Arabia should efforts to bring him back into the country fail--a conversation the CIA says "seems to foreshadow the Saudi operation launched against Khashoggi."
Nevertheless, the report, according to the Journal, goes on to state, "To be clear, we lack direct reporting of the Crown Prince issuing a kill order."
Khashoggi, a Washington Post contributor and frequent critic of Saudi leaders, was killed on October 2 at the consulate in Turkey, notes The Hill.
His death has been a controversial one for President Trump who has seemed to defend the crown prince despite the CIA report that links him to the crime.
"King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman vigorously deny any knowledge of the planning or execution of the murder of Mr. Khashoggi," Trump said last month. "Our intelligence agencies continue to assess all information, but it could very well be that the Crown Prince had knowledge of this tragic event – maybe he did and maybe he didn't!"
The president then went on to call Saudi Arabia "a great ally."