Trump vows U.S. will not ‘walk away from Saudi Arabia’ amid pressure to respond to Jamal Khashoggi’s alleged murder

Show Caption Hide Caption Pompeo Goes to Turkey to discuss Khashoggi case US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Pompeo was there to discuss the disappearance and alleged killing of Saudi writer Jamal Khashoggi with Turkey's President. (Oct. 17)

WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump said Wednesday he would not rupture America’s long-standing alliance with Saudi Arabia over the disappearance and possible murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi despite mounting international and domestic pressure.

“We’re not going to walk away from Saudi Arabia,” Trump told Fox Business Network. “I don’t want to do that.”

Trump implied that only if the top echelon of Saudi Arabia's royal family were implicated would he find it necessary to punish the country.

"I hope that the king and the crown prince didn’t know about it. That’s a big factor in my eyes," Trump said.

Before a meeting with his Cabinet secretaries in the Oval Office, Trump emphasized Saudi Arabia's importance as a U.S. ally. He questioned the existence of audio and video recordings that Turkish officials said implicate Saudi Arabia in Khashoggi's killing.

Yeni Safak, a pro-government Turkish newspaper, reported Wednesday that on an audio recording, Saudi Consul General Mohammed al-Otaibi can be heard telling people torturing Khashoggi, "Do this outside; you’re going to get me in trouble." The newspaper said one of the torturers replied, "Shut up if you want to live when you return to (Saudi) Arabia."

The New York Times reported on the audio recording Wednesday, adding details about the alleged torture and dismemberment of Khashoggi.

“We have asked for it, if it exists," Trump said about the tapes. "I’m not sure yet that it exists, probably does, possibly does."

Asked why he hadn't dispatched the FBI to help the Turkish government with the investigation, Trump responded, "Well, he wasn’t a citizen of this country for one thing." Khashoggi was a permanent U.S. resident.

Trump said he would not divulge whether the nation’s top law enforcement agency had begun any kind of investigation.

"I want to find out what happened, where is the fault," Trump said. "And we will probably know that by the end of the week.”

Tuesday, Attorney General Jeff Sessions called Khashoggi's disappearance "a big deal" and said the Justice Department was "seriously evaluating" a possible role in the investigation.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo initially declined to comment on whether he'd heard any audio recordings. His spokeswoman later said he had not.

Sunday, Trump threatened Saudi Arabia with "severe punishment" if the country was found responsible for Khashoggi's death.

The Saudi journalist, who wrote critically of the kingdom and royal family for The Washington Post, has been missing since entering the Saudi Consulate on Oct. 2 to obtain paperwork to marry his fiancee. Turkish officials said he was murdered inside the building, but Saudi officials strenuously denied that.

Pompeo completed a series of hastily arranged meetings in Saudi Arabia and Turkey to confront the escalating diplomatic crisis stemming from Khashoggi's disappearance. Trump administration officials have cultivated close ties to Saudi regime, seeing the U.S. ally as a key partner in their efforts to isolate Iran.

In Riyadh, Pompeo met with Saudi King Salman and his son, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the country's de facto ruler. Trump said he dispatched Pompeo on the trip "to get to the bottom" of the Khashoggi case.

Pompeo said the Saudis promised to conduct a full and "transparent investigation" and pledged to make "no exceptions on who they would hold accountable," including members of the governing royal family.

"They made a commitment ... to hold anyone connected to any wrongdoing that may be found accountable for that, whether they are a senior officer or official," Pompeo said.

"It’s reasonable to give them a handful of days more to complete (their investigation), so they get it right," he said. "That’s what they’ve indicated they need, and then we’ll get to see it."

He promised to evaluate the Saudi investigation on "a factual straight-up basis."

He expressed reluctance to jeopardize U.S. ties with the Saudis.

"The Saudis have been great partners in working alongside us" on curbing Iran and other issues, he said. "We need to make sure that we’re mindful of that."

Trump has made Saudi Arabia a centerpiece of his Middle East policy, analysts said, seeing the country as a check on Iranian ambitions, a guarantor of stable oil prices and a possible supporter of an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal.

"It's all magical thinking," said Aaron David Miller, who was a State Department Middle East adviser under presidents of both parties. Nevertheless, Trump is very protective of his Saudi allies, he said.

Miller said Trump made Saudi Arabia his first foreign trip, a heavily promoted visit organized in part by son-in-law and top adviser Jared Kushner. The Saudi hosts feted Trump during events ranging from a lavish banquet to sword dancing.

"They flattered him, they fed him," Miller said. "He loved the pomp and circumstance, and the money."

John Brennan, CIA director under President Barack Obama and a fierce critic of Trump, told NBC's "Today" show that Saudi leaders probably knew the hit would happen and thought they could get away with it because of their ties to Trump.

"Jamal Khashoggi’s apparent death at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul is an atrocity, and Crown Prince Muhammed bin Salman’s close ties to the White House must not stand in the way of a full and forceful U.S. response," Brennan tweeted this week.

Lawmakers in both parties pressured Trump to be more aggressive in his response, some suggesting sanctions against Saudi Arabia and others threatening to block U.S. weapons sales to the country. It's unclear whether Congress will follow through on those possible steps.

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