INP
\nWASHINGTON
\nTwo key US Republican senators said Tuesday after a briefing by the CIA\u2019s director that they have \u201czero\u201d doubt Saudi Arabia\u2019s crown prince directed the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
\nThe explosive new declarations by members of President Donald Trump\u2019s own party run counter to the White House narrative downplaying possible links between Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and the October killing of journalist and palace critic Khashoggi at the kingdom\u2019s Istanbul consulate.
\n\u201cI have zero question in my mind that the crown prince directed the murder and was kept appraised of the situation all the way through it,\u201d Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker told reporters after CIA director Gina Haspel briefed a small group of senators.
\n\u201cIf MBS were in front of a jury, he\u2019d be convicted in less than 30 minutes.\u201d
\nFellow Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, a Trump ally who has joined a growing collection of lawmakers urging the president to take a far tougher stance against Riyadh over the killing, also attended the hour-long closed-door briefing, and minced no words afterwards.
\nThe crown prince is \u201ccrazy\u201d and \u201ca wrecking ball\u201d who is \u201ccomplicit in the murder of Mr Khashoggi to the highest level possible,\u201d Graham said in withering criticism of an American ally.
\n\u201cThere\u2019s not a smoking gun but a smoking saw.\u201d
\nThe South Carolina senator was directly repudiating comments by top Trump administration officials, including Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, who just last week said there was \u201cno smoking gun\u201d implicating the crown prince.
\nSenators would not describe the evidence presented by Haspel.
\nUS newspapers, including The Wall Street Journal, have reported that the CIA has evidence that Prince Mohammed exchanged 11 messages with his close aide Saud al-Qahtani, who allegedly oversaw the murder, just before and after it took place.
\nSome of the most important evidence may be an audio recording of the murder that Turkey said it has distributed, but Graham said that was not played in Tuesday\u2019s briefing.
\n\u2018He is dangerous\u2019
\nBut \u201cthe brutality of this murder is beyond my sharing it with you,\u201d Graham said.
\n\u201cIf the Saudi government is going to be in the hands of this man for a long time to come, I find it very difficult to be able to do business, because I think he\u2019s crazy, I think he is dangerous and he has put the relationship at risk.\u201d
\nAfter reports that the CIA concluded that the crown prince ordered Khashoggi\u2019s assassination in the Istanbul consulate on October 2, Trump issued a statement saying US-Saudi relations and oil market stability were too important to rock over the scandal.
\nUnder mounting pressure from lawmakers who wanted action against Riyadh, Mattis and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told senators where they said there was no direct evidence linking the crown prince to the murder.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
INP WASHINGTON Two key US Republican senators said Tuesday after a briefing by the CIA\u2019s director that they have \u201czero\u201d doubt Saudi Arabia\u2019s crown prince directed the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. The explosive new declarations by members of President Donald Trump\u2019s own party run counter to the White House narrative downplaying possible links between […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-38734","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-world"],"yoast_head":"\n