Trump on Thursday disputed the CIA’s reported conclusion Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ordered Khashoggi’s killing.
Turkey’s top diplomat on Friday slammed President Donald Trump for turning a “blind eye” to the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi as the president continues to tout US-Saudi relations amid accusations he’s placed arms sales and oil prices above upholding human rights.
Trump on Thursday disputed the CIA’s reported conclusion Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ordered Khashoggi’s killing, suggesting the agency simply has “feelings” on what happened to the journalist.
“They have not concluded. Nobody’s concluded. I don’t know if anybody’s going to be able to conclude that the Crown Prince did it,” Trump said. “They said he might have done it. That’s a big difference.”
The president also claimed Prince Mohammed “hates” what happened to Khashoggi more than he does, adding that the prince “vehemently” denies involvement.
“I hate the crime, I hate the cover-up. I will tell you this: The crown prince hates it more than I do, and they have vehemently denied it,” Trump said.
Read more: Turkey says the CIA has a ‘smoking gun’ tape nailing the Saudi crown prince in the Khashoggi case
Khashoggi was killed in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2. Saudi Arabia initially denied any involvement in Khashoggi’s fate, but ultimately acknowledged he was killed by agents of the government within the consulate. But the Saudi leadership has maintained Prince Mohammed had nothing to do with it.
Trump has largely accepted the Saudi narrative and on Tuesday issued a forceful defense of Riyadh over Khashoggi’s killing.
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Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu
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Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu
In this photo taken Thursday, Nov. 22,2018, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu speaks about the upcoming two-day G-20 summit during a news conference in Ankara, Turkey. Turkey’s top diplomat Cavusoglu says Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has requested to meet Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on the sidelines of the G-20 summit in Buenos Aires. (AP Photo/Burhan Ozbilici)
WASHINGTON, Nov. 20,2018 — U. S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo R meets with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu at the U. S. Department of State in Washington D. C., the United States, on Nov. 20,2018. (Xinhua/Liu Jie) (Xinhua/Liu Jie via Getty Images)
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, right, speaks during a joint press conference with European Union’s foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini after their meeting, in Ankara, Turkey, Thursday, Nov.
