WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump on Monday dispatched US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to meet with Saudi Arabia’s King Salman over the unexplained disappearance of prominent Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi and raised the possibility that “rogue killers” could have been responsible.
Trump said he spoke to the Saudi king for about 20 minutes about Khashoggi, who disappeared after entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2, and that it sounded like neither the king nor Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had knowledge about the incident.
Turkish sources have said they believe Khashoggi was killed inside the building and his body removed, allegations that Riyadh dismisses as baseless.
“I sounded to me like maybe there could have been rogue killers. Who knows?” Trump told reporters at the White House. He offered no evidence for why he thought rogue killers might be involved.
Representatives for the White House did not immediately respond to a request for further comment.
