Currents News Staff
Moments after Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi entered the Consulate of Saudi Arabia in Istanbul, Khashoggi was surrounded by his executioners.
“This was a pre-meditated act of willful murder, it was not a rendition,” said Aaron Miller, a global affairs analyst.
A source briefed on the investigation into Khashoggi murder says that after a struggle, Khashoggi repeated the phrase “I can’t breathe.”
A transcript of the incident notes screams and gasping and then the sound of Khashoggi body being dismembered with a saw.
Many in Washington D.C., including reportedly the C.I.A., believe Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman ordered the kill.
“There is no way that 17 people close to him got on a charter plane, flew to a third country, went into a consulate, killed and chopped up a man, and flew back, and he didn’t know about it, much less order it,” said Sen. Marco Rubio.
The Trump administration says there’s no smoking gun that links the Crown Prince to the killing and the New York Times reports Jared Kushner, President Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser, maintained regular talks with the prince after the murder, including advice on how to get past the fallout.
“No one is saying that he is condoning the killing certainly but that he’s saying that you’ve got to look at the long term and also that this young Crown Prince is the long-term future of Saudi Arabia,” said Mark Mazzetti.