At a time that international pressure is being piled up on the Saudi government over the disappearance of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi, US President Donald Trump has made new remarks seen by analysts as an effort to whitewash Saudi rulers in the case so that Washington would not lose its hefty arms deal with the kingdom.
Speaking to reporters following a phone call with Saudi Arabia’s King Salman on Monday, Trump suggested that “rogue killers” may be responsible for whatever happened to the missing Washington Post columnist, Jamal Khashoggi.
Noting that he did not “want to get” into King Salman’s mind, Trump said, “it sounded to me like maybe these could have been rogue killers.”
“We’re going to try getting to the bottom of it very soon, but his was a flat denial,” he added.
Trump further noted that during the phone call, the Saudi King had “firmly denied any knowledge” of the disappearance of the dissident…