After CIA briefing, Republicans say 'no question' MBS ordered Khashoggi murder

Sen. Bob Corker: "I have zero question in my mind that the crown prince, MBS, ordered the killing" and "monitored the killing" of Jamal Khashoggi. "If he was in front of a jury he would be convicted in 30 minutes: guilty."

Lindsey Graham: "Saudi Arabia is a strategic ally and the relationship is worth saving but not at all costs. We'll do more damage to our standing in the world and our national security by ignoring MBS than dealing with him. Saudi Arabia's crown prince is a wrecking ball, I think he's complicit in the murder of Jamal Khashoggi to the "highest level possible. I cannot see him being a reliable partner to the United States. If 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's crazy. I think he's dangerous and he has put the relationship at risk."

Marco Rubio: MBS has absolute power in #SaudiArabia & 17 people linked to him flew into Turkey & murdered a man in a Saudi consulate. You don’t need a “smoking gun” to conclude he ordered & was deeply involved in the #KhashoggiMurder.

Donald Trump: "I don't know if he did it or didn't do it. I do know he vehemently denies it."


Keep in mind that Trump was told of intelligence that Khashoggi was in danger before he even left for Turkey to visit the Saudi Arabian consulate in order to get papers to get married, and Trump has access to the same classified information that the CIA has (his own National Security Advisor, John Bolton, refused to listen to the purported tapes of the murder with the lame excuse that he didn't speak the language ...an egregious dereliction of duty). And yet, on Nov 20th, he stated that he supported MBS and vilified Khashoggi. Two weeks later, Republican Senators vehemently state the exact opposite, saying MBS is absolutely guilty.

So what's going on here?

After CIA briefing, Republicans say 'no question' Saudi crown prince ordered Khashoggi murder
By MARIAM KHAN, CONOR FINNEGAN TRISH TURNER
Dec 4, 2018, 4:08 PM ET

Trump 'stands with' Saudi Arabia and defends crown prince over Khashoggi
President issues extraordinary statement of support and repeats Saudi claim that murdered journalist was ‘enemy of the state’
Julian Borger in Washington and Martin Chulov in Beirut
Tue 20 Nov 2018 16.43 EST

Donald Trump has expressed his unstinting support for Saudi Arabia and claimed there was “nothing definitive” linking Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to the murder of the Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi.

The 649-word statement appears to be a presidential act of defiance against the CIA, which has reportedly concluded that the Saudi prince ordered the killing, and the Senate, which is considering bipartisan legislation that would suspend weapons sales to Saudi Arabia among other punitive measures.

He told reporters at the White House that the CIA “didn’t make a determination” on the murder, and that they had “nothing definitive” on its perpetrator. The claim is contradicted by multiple reports that the intelligence agency has concluded that Prince Mohammed ordered the hit on the former Saudi insider who had become a persistent critic.

SAUDI ARABIA WIRES U.S. $100 MILLION AS TRUMP PROCLAIMS M.B.S. INNOCENT
Meanwhile, Turkish officials have unearthed even more grim details of journalist Jamal Khashoggi’s alleged murder.
BY BESS LEVIN
OCTOBER 17, 2018

“The timing of this is no coincidence,” the American official working on Syria policy told the Times on Tuesday. “In all probability, the Saudis want Trump to know that his cooperation in covering for the Khashoggi affair is important to the Saudi monarch,” Joshua Landis, a professor at the University of Oklahoma, surmised to The Washington Post. “Much of its financial promises to the U.S. will be contingent on this cooperation.” Coincidentally, the $100 million hit the U.S. accounts on the same day Trump stepped up his defense of the kingdom, telling the Associated Press that what we have here is another case of “guilty until proven innocent,” which is exactly what happened with Brett Kavanaugh, who the president believes is “innocent all the way.” Trump also informed his Twitter followers that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman maintains he knows nothing about nothing, and if you can’t trust the word of the guy who imprisoned his own cousins, who can you trust?

'This Guy's Nuts': Graham Blasts MBS, Says U.S. Can't Give Him 'A Pass' for Khashoggi Murder[ /url] - Video
The Story with Martha MacCallum, FOX Insider
December 4, 2018