Turkey’s president vowed to “go into detail” in a major speech Tuesday on the findings of his country’s investigation into the death of Saudi writer Jamal Khashoggi, amid mounting international skepticism over the Saudi government’s latest claim that the dissident journalist died in a chaotic “fistfight” at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul this month.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan made the announcement Sunday as bipartisan calls grew louder in Washington for the Trump administration to take punitive action against the Saudis and as U.S. allies in Europe sharply condemned the apparent killing of Mr. Khashoggi. German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she backs a freeze on all arms exports to Riyadh.
President Trump expressed dissatisfaction over the weekend at Riyadh’s handling of the situation.
Germany joined Britain and France on Sunday in issuing a joint statement saying there is an “urgent need for clarification of exactly what happened” to Mr. Khashoggi when he disappeared at the Saudi diplomatic post in Istanbul on Oct. 2.
Pro-government media in Turkey have sent shock waves around the world in the past two weeks with reports citing Turkish investigators who say a 15-man Saudi “hit squad” — possibly ordered by the highest level of the Saudi royal family — traveled to Istanbul on a mission to kill the U.S.-based Mr. Khashoggi, an outspoken critic of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
“Why did these 15 people come here?” Mr. Erdogan said Sunday. “All of this needs to be explained in all its details.”
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Saudi Arabia’s government broke its weekslong silence over the Khashoggi affair on Saturday by asserting that the 59-year-old dissident writer died after a quarrel with officials inside the Istanbul consulate escalated unexpectedly into a fatal fistfight.
Riyadh also announced the arrest Saturday of 18 Saudi officials as well as the firing of five officials — including the kingdom’s deputy intelligence chief, Maj. Gen. Ahmed al-Assiri, and Saud al-Qahtani, a top adviser to the crown prince — as part of the Saudi government’s internal investigation into the Khashoggi case.
In a sign that Ankara does not think the threat is over, Istanbul’s governor’s office announced Sunday that Hatice Cengiz, Mr. Khashoggi’s fiancee, has been given 24-hour police protection, The Associated Press reported. She was waiting outside the Saudi Consulate on Oct. 2, the day Mr. Khashoggi was last seen, and alerted authorities when he did not emerge from the building.
With the 33-year-old crown prince, along with his father, Saudi King Salman, having both denied any involvement in what happened to Mr. Khashoggi, Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir told “Fox News Sunday” that the writer’s killing was “a rogue operation” and that “we don’t know where the body is.”
“The individuals who did this did this outside the scope of their authority,” the Saudi foreign minister said. “There obviously was a tremendous mistake made, and what compounded the mistake was the attempt to try to cover up. That is unacceptable to the government.”
However, U.S. lawmakers on both sides of the aisle cast fresh doubt on the Saudi claims. Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker, Tennessee Republican, went so far as to say he believes Crown Prince Mohammed — known in foreign policy circles by his initials “MBS” — personally ordered Mr. Khashoggi’s assassination.
“I don’t know yet, but based on the intel that I have read,” said Mr. Corker, “it’s my thinking that MBS was involved in this, that he directed this and that this person was purposely murdered.”
Mr. Corker said in an interview on CNN’s “State of the Union” that the crown prince, the heir apparent of the world’s largest oil exporter, has “crossed a line and there has to be a punishment and a price paid for that.”
Rep. Adam B. Schiff, the top Democrat on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, said Mr. Khashoggi’s death should be a “relationship-altering” event for the U.S. and Saudi Arabia.
While the Saudis have indicated that they intend to retaliate against the U.S. or any other nation that may level economic sanctions in response to the Khashoggi affair, Mr. Schiff told ABC’s “This Week” that he would support serious punitive actions against Riyadh.
“We ought to suspend military sales, we ought to suspend certain security assistance and we ought to impose sanctions on any of those that were directly involved in this murder,” said the California Democrat, echoing comments that other Democrats and Republicans have made.
Mr. Trump has also talked about possible punishment for Riyadh but has said he does not want to halt a proposed $110 billion arms sale to the Saudis out of concern that it could harm U.S. manufacturers. The president has made good relations with Riyadh a central part of his Middle East strategy, particularly as a counter to Iranian influence in the region.
The president called again Saturday for patience. He said he needed to learn more about the case but intends to work with Congress on an appropriate U.S. response. He said Saudi Arabia’s acknowledgment of Mr. Khashoggi’s death and the arrests of officials marked “a good first step” but that he is still not satisfied.
U.S. intel and the tape
The latest twists in the saga have spurred questions over what U.S. intelligence agencies know about the disappearance of Mr. Khashoggi, who had a long career as a writer and politically active journalist on the Middle East that sources say may have included work with Saudi intelligence.
While best known in the U.S. for opinion columns he wrote over the past year for The Washington Post criticizing the crown prince, Mr. Khashoggi’s wider background — including an early career association with the Muslim Brotherhood — have prompted speculation that there may be more behind the incident that has brought broad condemnation of the Saudi regime.
One former high-level official told The Washington Times over the weekend that American intelligence has a clear picture of what happened to Mr. Khashoggi but declined to say whether it aligns with the Saudi or Turkish version of events.
“There is no question [U.S. intelligence] knows what happened. Some of the information has come from our partners in the region, and some of it has been gathered by signals intelligence,” the former official said on the condition of anonymity, referring to U.S. communications intercepts.
Mr. Trump insisted Saturday that his administration has not heard the audio recording that Turkish investigators reportedly possess as proof that Mr. Khashoggi was killed by Saudi agents inside the consulate.
“We’ve heard about [the recording], but nobody has seen it,” the president told reporters during a campaign stop in Nevada. Asked whether officials at the CIA or the National Security Agency may have heard the recording, Mr. Trump responded: “Not that we know of.”
The president expressed uncertainty when asked whether he believes the crown prince may have known in advance of a plot against Mr. Khashoggi. “Possibly — you don’t know that, but it’s possible,” Mr. Trump said.
The Washington Post reported last week that U.S. intelligence had intercepted communications between Saudi officials discussing a plan to capture the writer before his disappearance.
Intelligence agencies have declined to comment on the report, which has triggered unease on Capitol Hill. Congressional insiders say questions about what the CIA and NSA have gathered on the case, as well as when they shared the information with the White House, could lead to a politically charged investigation.
“Expect a Benghazi-style saga around this replete with intelligence committee hearings before the whole thing is over,” said the former official.
⦁ Alex Swoyer contributed to this report.
• Guy Taylor can be reached at gtaylor@washingtontimes.com.
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