Former CIA Director and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo passed up a chance to say he agreed with the CIA’s finding that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ordered the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018.
When asked Tuesday on Hannity, Pompeo replied, “Well, I will leave that to the intelligence professionals. I have actually read what’s there.”
“You should know—read it carefully—there are still lots of questions about what transpired there other than the fact we know that there was a murder,” he added. “And we were highly confident during my time in service that the dozen people—I think it was 13 maybe—that we sanctioned were connected to that in a serious way…”
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The Biden administration early last year released an unclassified intel report that concurred with the CIA.
“We base this assessment on the Crown Prince’s control of decision making in the Kingdom since 2017, the direct involvement of a key adviser and members of Muhammad bin Salman's protective detail in the operation, and the Crown Prince’s support for using violent measures to silence dissidents abroad, including Khashoggi,” it read.
Hannity’s questioning of Pompeo came after the White House announced earlier Tuesday that President Biden will visit the crown prince next month to outline “his affirmative vision for U.S. engagement in the region over the coming months and years.” Despite Biden’s previous vow while campaigning for president to make Saudi Arabia a “pariah” state, press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre defended the decision, saying that “important interests are interwoven with Saudi Arabia.”
