US President Donald Trump has said that the CIA did not blame Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for ordering the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Khashoggi was murdered on 2 October in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.

Officials told US media such an operation would have needed the prince's approval.

"They didn't conclude," Mr Trump said when asked about the CIA's evaluation by reporters at Mar-a-Lago in Florida.
"They have feelings certain ways. I have the report, they have not concluded, I don't know if anyone's going to be able to conclude the crown prince did it," he said.

The president has repeatedly stressed the importance of Saudi Arabia to the US following the killing.
Earlier this week, Mr Trump released a statement suggesting that the crown prince "could very well" have known about the incident.

His statement said: "[It] could very well be that the crown prince had knowledge of this tragic event - maybe he did and maybe he didn't!"
On 17 November, White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders told reporters that Mr Trump had confidence in the CIA following conversations with Director Gina Haspel and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo about the Khashoggi murder.

Sources quoted in the US media at the time stressed that there was no single piece of evidence linking the crown prince directly to the murder, but officials believed the killing would have required his endorsement.

Saudi Arabia called the claim false and insisted that the crown prince knew nothing about plans for the killing.

Source: BBC

BDST: 0915 HRS, NOV 23, 2018
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