Donald Trump slams criticism of Saudi Arabia as case of ‘guilty until proven innocent’ over missing journalist death riddle
DONALD Trump has slammed criticism of Saudi Arabia as case of "guilty until proven innocent" over the missing journalist death riddle.
The US President defended what he characterised as efforts to condemn Riyadh over the disappearance of Jamal Khashoggi before all the facts were known.
Earlier, Trump said the Saudi Crown Prince "denied all knowledge" of Khashoggi's fate after disappearing from the country's consulate in Istanbul two weeks ago.
He also compared the case to the allegations of sexual assault levelled against Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh during his confirmation hearing.
Trump said: "I think we have to find out what happened first. 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."
The president said he spoke with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and King Salman - both deny any knowledge of what happened to Khashoggi.
It comes as a high-level Turkish official said that police investigators searching the Saudi Consulate had found evidence that Khashoggi was killed there.
A source also claimed to have heard a recording from the writer's Apple Watch capturing the moment he was allegedly dragged into a study and surgically dismembered.
The anonymous source said Khashoggi can be heard screaming as he's chopped into pieces while he was still ALIVE in a horrifying seven-minute execution.
The president said that his own comment on Monday about possible "rogue killers" behind Khashoggi's disappearance was informed by his "feeling" from his conversation with Salman, and that the King did not use the term.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met with the king and crown prince in Riyadh yesterday and said later they made a "serious commitment" to hold senior leaders and officials accountable if implicated in Khashoggi's death.
Trump said he hopes the Saudis' own investigation of Khashoggi's disappearance will be concluded in "less than a week."
In the meantime, international leaders and business executives are severing or rethinking ties to the Saudi government after Khashoggi's high-profile disappearance.
Trump has resisted any action, pointing to huge US weapons deals pending with Saudi Arabia and saying that sanctions could hurt end up hurting the American economy.
He said it was too early to say whether he endorsed other countries' actions.
Trump said: "I have to find out what happened."
The president said Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin's trip to attend a Saudi investment conference is still on, but that it could be cancelled by Friday depending on what the investigation finds.
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