The crime against Jamal Khashoggi was a terrible one, and one that our country does not condone. Indeed, we have taken strong action against those already known to have participated in the murder. After great independent research, we now know many details of this horrible crime. We have already sanctioned 17 Saudis known to have been involved in the murder of Mr. Khashoggi, and the disposal of his body.
Representatives of Saudi Arabia say that Jamal Khashoggi was an “enemy of the state” and a member of the Muslim Brotherhood, but my decision is in no way based on that — this is an unacceptable and horrible crime. King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman vigorously deny any knowledge of the planning or execution of the murder of Mr. Khashoggi. Our intelligence agencies continue to assess all information, but it could very well be that the Crown Prince had knowledge of this tragic event — maybe he did and maybe he didn’t!
That being said, we may never know all of the facts surrounding the murder of Mr. Jamal Khashoggi.
Donald Trump, Fabulist-in-Chief
Puh-leeze. Our intelligence agencies, who work for The Donald, are agreed that the Crown Prince ordered the hit. By any sane reckoning, the Prince is guilty and the question is settled.
The bottom line here is that Trump — who is well-documented to be sympathetic to totalitarians, and hostile to journalism — simply isn’t going to allow the murder of an American resident and journalist to get in the way of a dubious deal.