Khashoggi Assassination: Trump Covered for Saudi Crown Prince Despite CIA Conclusion
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Khashoggi, a permanent U.S. resident and Washington Post contributor, entered the Saudi consulate in Istanbul to obtain marriage documents and was killed by a Saudi hit squad. Turkish intelligence recordings documented the killing. The CIA assessed with high confidence that MBS had ordered it. Trump's response was to prioritize the Saudi relationship over accountability: he repeatedly questioned the CIA's conclusion, cited a $110 billion arms deal with Saudi Arabia, and issued an unprecedented presidential statement that effectively exonerated MBS by saying even if he was responsible, the U.S. would stand by Saudi Arabia. A bipartisan Senate resolution holding MBS responsible was passed; Trump threatened to veto related legislation.
Overview
The CIA concluded with high confidence that Mohammed bin Salman ordered the killing of Jamal Khashoggi. Trump's response was a presidential statement that effectively said: we know, and it doesn't matter.
The statement was unusual in its candor about the calculation being made. Trump did not dispute the CIA's finding — he enumerated the dollar value of arms deals and listed oil prices as reasons to maintain the relationship regardless. The statement treated accountability for state-sponsored murder as a transaction.
Who Khashoggi Was
Jamal Khashoggi had been a senior Saudi official — an advisor to the royal family, a diplomat, a journalist. He had become a critic of MBS's consolidation of power and was writing columns for the Washington Post from his base in Northern Virginia, where he lived as a U.S. permanent resident.
He entered the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on a bureaucratic errand. He did not come out.
What the CIA Found
The CIA's assessment — high confidence that MBS ordered the killing — was based on intelligence that included recordings from Turkish surveillance of the consulate and an assessment of the organizational structure of Saudi intelligence. Fifteen people don't fly from Riyadh to Istanbul on a Tuesday to kill a journalist without the Crown Prince's order.
Trump said maybe he knew about it and maybe he didn't. Then he moved on.
The Congress
The Senate passed a bipartisan resolution in December 2018 holding MBS responsible and calling for an end to U.S. support for Saudi operations in Yemen. The vote was 56-41. Trump threatened a veto and the resolution never reached his desk. The congressionally mandated accountability report was not submitted on time.
Saudi Arabia sentenced eight people. MBS was not charged. He is still Crown Prince.
Timeline
Sequence of events
October 2, 2018
Khashoggi enters Saudi consulate; is killed
Khashoggi enters the Saudi consulate in Istanbul to obtain marriage documents. He does not emerge. Turkish intelligence, which had surveillance of the building, documents that a 15-member Saudi team was inside; recordings indicate Khashoggi was killed within minutes of entering.
October 11, 2018
Turkey reveals recordings; Saudi Arabia changes story
Turkey reveals it has audio and video evidence of Khashoggi's killing. Saudi Arabia, after initially denying any knowledge, then claiming he left the consulate, eventually acknowledges he died inside — attributing it to a 'fistfight.'
November 16, 2018
CIA briefing confirms MBS ordered killing
The CIA delivers its assessment — high confidence that MBS ordered the killing — to members of Congress. Trump publicly questions the finding and says the CIA has not concluded MBS ordered it, contradicting the agency's own assessment.
November 20, 2018
Trump issues statement — cites arms deals
Trump releases an unprecedented presidential statement titled 'America First!' that lists U.S. financial and strategic interests in Saudi Arabia as reasons to maintain the relationship, and states MBS 'maybe' had knowledge of the killing despite CIA's high-confidence conclusion.
February 15, 2019
Administration misses deadline to report on MBS
The administration misses a congressionally mandated deadline to report on whether MBS was responsible for Khashoggi's death — a report the Global Magnitsky Act required. The Biden administration released the declassified ODNI assessment in February 2021.
Sources
- ↑ Saudi Arabia Admits Khashoggi Is Dead, Blaming a Fight — The New York Times
- ↑ Trump's response: told the world the U.S. is for sale — The Washington Post
- ↑ CIA concludes Saudi crown prince ordered Khashoggi killing — The Associated Press
- ↑ Intelligence Community Assessment: The Killing of Jamal Khashoggi — Office of the Director of National Intelligence
Verification