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WASHINGTON, U.S. – Last week’s media expose on the conclusions drawn by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) after examining the evidence related to the sensational murder of veteran Saudi Arabian journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Turkey last month, have evidently left the U.S. President Donald Trump rattled.

On November 16, a report in the New York Times quoted unnamed U.S. officials as confirming that the CIA has concluded that Khashoggi’s killing was ordered by the Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman. 

The officials quoted in the report further revealed that for weeks now, the CIA has believed that the de-facto Saudi leader was culpable in the journalist’s killing, but had been hesitant to definitively conclude that he directly ordered the hit. 

They said that the CIA had already passed on its assessment to U.S. lawmakers and the Trump administration.  

However, a day after the report was published and made headlines across the world, the U.S. President issued a statement of his own, calling the CIA assessment “very premature.”

In his statement, Trump acknowledged that the Crown Prince “could very well” have known about Khashoggi’s murder, but touted the country’s business and military ties with the Gulf state.

He said, “[It] could very well be that the Crown Prince had knowledge of this tragic event – maybe he did and maybe he didn’t! In any case, our relationship is with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia is a steadfast partner that has agreed to invest a record amount of money in the U.S.”

He stressed that Saudi investment pledges and arms purchases and said, “If we foolishly cancel these contracts, Russia and China would be the enormous beneficiaries.”

Trump added that the Kingdom was a key U.S. ally against Iran and pointed out that the kingdom spent “billions of dollars in leading the fight against Radical Islamic Terrorism” whereas Iran has “killed many Americans and other innocent people throughout the Middle East.”

He said, “The United States intends to remain a steadfast partner of Saudi Arabia to ensure the interests of our country, Israel and all other partners in the region.”

Trump’s reaction to the CIA assessment in the writer’s killing drew widespread criticism.

Hold the ‘world accountable’

As the holiday weekend approached, Trump spoke to reporters at his Florida estate, the Mar-a-Lago on Thursday, but paid no heed to the intense criticism he drew following his statement defending Saudi Arabia two years back.

Instead, the U.S. President doubled down on his insistence that the alliance with the Kingdom was more valuable than the repercussions for any culpability in Khashoggi’s murder.

Disputing the conclusions of his own intelligence agencies, Trump told reporters that the CIA merely had “feelings” on the matter and there is no smoking gun in the death.

He said that the Saudi crown prince denies it “vehemently” and pointed out that, “Maybe the world should be held accountable because the world is a very, very vicious place.”

Trump said, “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!”

He said, “I hate the crime, I hate the coverup. I will tell you this: The crown prince hates it more than I do, and they have vehemently denied it.”  

Speaking of the partnership with the crown prince, Trump said, “Do people really want me to give up hundreds of thousands of jobs? And frankly, if we went by this standard, we wouldn’t be able to have anybody as an ally.”

Trump turning ‘blind eye’

Khashoggi was killed inside the Saudi Arabian consulate in Istanbul on October 2 and since then, Turkey has presented evidence of the journalist’s killing to several countries and has publicly alleged that a 15-man Saudi ‘hit squad’ carried out the murder based on orders from the “highest levels” of the Saudi government.

While Turkey has not directly blamed the Saudi crown prince, the country’s foreign minister expressed dismay at Trump’s recent comments. 

Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said that Trump’s comments show the U.S. president will turn a blind eye to the issue no matter what investigators uncover.

Cavusoglu criticised Trump’s stance for putting commercial deals with Riyadh ahead of justice and said human life should take precedence.

He said, “This statement that Trump made also means: ‘No matter what happens, I will turn a blind eye.’ This is not a correct approach. Not everything is money.”

He also pointed out, “We cannot accuse one person without definite evidence, this is not correct. However, the ‘it may be, it may not be’ statement seemed interesting to us.”

Meanwhile, Trump’s comments riled up some top Republicans too, who denounced the U.S. President’s decision to refrain from levying harsher penalties on Mohammed bin Salman over Khashoggi’s killing.

Sen. Bob Corker, the Republican chairman of the influential Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said that he was “astounded” by Trump’s statement.

Corker likened it to a press release for Saudi Arabia and said, “It is a delicate situation when we have a long-term ally that we’ve had for decades, but we have a crown prince that I believe ordered the killing of a journalist. We don’t have a smoking gun. Everything points to the fact that he knew about it and directed it.”

Other Republicans, including Sens. Lindsey Graham and Rand Paul too, who often offer vocal support to Trump’s actions, denounced his statement supporting the Kingdom.