- The US senators have reportedly expressed conviction that Saudi crown prince ordered the murder of Khashoggi
- The senators indicted the crown prince after meeting with CIA director
- They were not, however, allowed to disclose the details of the meeting
The US senators have allegedly expressed certainty that that the Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, ordered the murder of Washington Post columnist, Jamal Khashoggi.
The Guardian UK reports that the lawmakers came to the conclusion after emerging from a classified briefing by CIA director, Gina Haspel.
“If the crown prince went in front of a jury he would be convicted in thirty minutes,” Bob Corker, the Republican chair of the Senate foreign relations committee reportedly told journalists immediately after the Haspel meeting.
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Legit.ng gathers that leading senators from both parties attended the briefing from Haspel, who flew to Turkey to hear tapes of the killing which happened on October 2 from Turkish intelligence intercepts.
The senators were reportedly not allowed to disclose details of what they were told, but their reaction reinforced reports that the CIA had accumulated substantial evidence that the crown prince was behind the murder.
The Trump administration has said that there is no “direct evidence” of the prince’s culpability, with the defence secretary James Mattis, insisting there was no “smoking gun”.
After Tuesday’s Haspel briefing, Republican senator Lindsey Graham said: “There’s not a smoking gun, there’s a smoking saw.”
Turkish investigators allege Khashoggi was tortured before he was murdered by Saudi officials in the country’s consulate in Istanbul. The hit squad reportedly brought a bone saw with them to dismember him.
The Senate is reportedly due to vote in the coming days on a measure that would cut off US military support for Saudi military operations in Yemen.
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Meanwhile, Legit.ng previously reported that President Trump vowed not to listen to the audio evidence revealing the gruesome murder of Khashoggi. He said he had been briefed about the highly indicting CIA investigation comprising audio evidence but would not to listen to the audio because "it's a suffering tape, it's a terrible tape."
The CIA claimed Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, ordered the assassination of journalist Khashoggi in Istanbul last month.
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Source: Legit.ng