US President Donald Trump on Tuesday criticized rapidly mounting global condemnation of Saudi Arabia over the mystery of missing journalist Jamal Khashoggi, warning of a rush to judgement and echoing Saudi Arabia’s request for patience.
In an interview Trump compared the case of Khashoggi, who Turkish officials have said was murdered in Saudi Arabia’ Istanbul consulate, to the allegations of sexual assault leveled against Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh during his confirmation hearing.
“I think we have to find out what happened first,” Trump said. “Here we go again with, you know, you’re guilty until proven innocent. I don’t like that. We just went through that with Justice Kavanaugh and he was innocent all the way as far as I’m concerned.”
Trump’s remarks were his most robust defense yet of Saudi Arabia, a US ally he has made central to his Middle East agenda.
They put the president at odds with other key allies and with some leaders in his Republican Party, who have condemned the Saudi Arabian leadership for what they say is an obvious role in the case.
Trump appeared willing to resist the pressure to follow suit, accepting Saudi Arabian denials and their pledge to investigate.
The Oval Office interview came not long after Trump spoke with Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. He spoke by telephone a day earlier with Saudi Arabian King Salman and he said both deny any knowledge of what happened to Khashoggi.
After speaking with the king, Trump floated the idea that “rogue killers” might have been responsible for the disappearance.
Trump said that that description was informed by his “feeling” from his conversation with Salman and that the king did not use the term.
In Turkey earlier on Tuesday, a high-level Turkish official said that police investigators searching the Saudi Arabian consulate had found evidence that Khashoggi was killed there.
Also on Tuesday, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met with the king and crown prince in Riyadh and said Saudi Arabia had already started a “serious and credible investigation,” and seemed to suggest it could lead to people within the kingdom.
Pompeo said that the Saudi Arabian leaders, while denying knowledge of anything that occurred inside the consulate, had committed to accountability “including for Saudi Arabia’s senior leaders or senior officials.”
Pompeo was heading next to Turkey, where officials have accused Saudi Arabia of using a 15-member team to kill Khashoggi inside the consulate.
Trump said he hoped the Saudi Arabian investigation of Khashoggi’s disappearance would be concluded in “less than a week.”
In the meantime, there were signs at home that Trump’s party was growing uncomfortable with his willingness to defend Saudi Arabia.
In an interview with Fox News, a prominent Trump ally in the US Senate called on Saudi Arabia to reject the crown prince, who rose to power last year and has aggressively sought to soften the kingdom’s image abroad and attract foreign investment.
“This guy has got to go,” said US Senator Lindsey Graham said. “Saudi Arabia, if you’re listening, there are a lot of good people you can choose, but MBS [Mohammed bin Salman] has tainted your country and tainted himself.”
Khashoggi, a Saudi Arabian citizen who was also a resident of the US, has been a contributor to the Washington Post and a critic of Saudi Arabia’s leaders, especially the prince.
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