WASHINGTON – U. S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin met with Saudi Arabia’s crown prince on Monday despite mounting international outrage over the kingdom’s role in…
WASHINGTON – U. S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin met with Saudi Arabia’s crown prince on Monday despite mounting international outrage over the kingdom’s role in the death of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi.
Mnuchin’s tete-a-tete with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is at odds with the treasury secretary’s decision last week to nix a trip to Saudi Arabian summit – amid intense pressure on the Trump administration to distance itself from the royal family.
Saudi Arabia’s foreign ministry tweeted a photo of the meeting, saying they discussed “the importance of Saudi-US strategic partnership.”
Mnunchin’s trip to Riyadh was related to ongoing U. S. efforts to stop illicit financing for terrorist groups. A spokesman for Mnuchin, Tony Sayegh, said they discussed “combating terrorist financing, implementing Iran sanctions, Saudi economic issues and the Khashoggi investigation.” He said Mnuchin’s stop in Saudi Arabia was part of a six-country trip through the Middle East.
Saudi Arabia admitted late Friday that Khashoggi was murdered at its diplomatic compound in Istanbul earlier this month. The regime has blamed a “rogue operation” and denied that its Salman, the country’s defacto ruler, ordered his death.
Members of Congress have said that explanation is not credible and questioned whether any such operation could have occurred without the knowledge and consent of the crown prince.
“Nothing happens in Saudi Arabia without the crown prince’s approval,” Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., told reporters during a conference call Monday. “It’s laughable and not credible to say he was not involved in this.”
President Donald Trump has vacillated in his comments on the case – and on the Saudis’ explanation.
Trump initially said he found the Saudis account of Khashoggi’s death credible but later told the Washington Post “there’s been deception and there’s been lies” from the Saudis on the matter. “Their stories are all over the place,” he told the Post.
On Monday, Trump said he would know more about Khashoggi’s death when U. S. investigators returned from Saudi Arabia in the next day or so.
“I’m not satisfied with what I’ve heard” from the Saudi government, Trump said before leaving for a campaign rally in Texas.
Contributing: John Bacon, Will Cummings and Kim Hjelmgaard
