A US intelligence report expected to be released Thursday will blame journalist Jamal Khashoggi’s murder of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, according to Reuters.
The report, led by the CIA, will detail how the crown prince approved and likely ordered the murder of Khashoggi, four people familiar with its contents told the news service.
Khashoggi, an American journalist for the Washington Post who was often critical of the crown prince in his writings, was murdered in 2018 after walking into the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. Officials believe Saudi agents likely dismembered Khashoggi’s remains, which were never found.
The report is part of President Biden
Joe BidenKlain on Manchin’s Objection to Neera Tanden: He’s ‘Not Answering Us in the White House’ Senators Won’t Get Timeline on Removing National Guard, Capitol Fence Overnight Defense: New Senate Armed Services Chairman Talks Pentagon Policy Nominee, Afghanistan, more | Biden reads report on Khashoggi murder | Austin Emphasizes Vaccine Safety in New Video MORE‘s push to reaffirm the US when it comes to relations with Saudi Arabia. He told reporters on Wednesday that he had read the intelligence report but did not speak directly to the Crown Prince, but only to his father, Saudi King Salman.
“We have been in contact with Saudi officials at various levels in the early weeks of this administration,” State Department spokesman Ned Price said in a statement to Reuters.
The news outlet noted that a 2018 United Nations human rights investigation found Saudi Arabia to be responsible for a “deliberate, premeditated execution” of Khashoggi.
“There is plenty of credible evidence regarding the crown prince’s responsibility that demands further investigation,” said researcher Agnes Callamard at the time.
The Crown Prince has denied any involvement in Khashoggi’s death.