Pompeo says CIA still investigating killing of Khashoggi

WASHINGTON: US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday defended the Trump administration's handling of the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, stressing Saudi Arabia's importance as a U.S. ally against Iran.

Pompeo repeated his assertion that there was no direct evidence linking Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to the Oct. 2 murder of Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, despite a CIA assessment it was likely he ordered the killing.

CIA Director Gina Haspel briefed leaders of the House of Representatives behind closed doors about the killing. After the classified briefing, House members declined comment beyond saying they had not heard anything that had changed their minds about Khashoggi's death.

Democratic Representative Eliot Engel, likely the next chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, said he intended to hold hearings starting early next year on all aspects of Saudi behavior and the U.S.-Saudi relationship.

"I think that all leaders are responsible for things that happen under them. So I think that we've still get to get to the bottom of it," Engel said.

"Saudi Arabia's an important ... partner, but I don't think we can simply look the other way when things happen and talk about business as usual," he said.

Haspel had already briefed some U.S. senators. Pompeo and Mattis, who held a separate briefing for the entire Senate, are due to discuss Saudi Arabia with the entire House on Thursday.

Khashoggi's death sent shockwaves around the world and has drawn outrage from Congress. Many lawmakers, including some of President Donald Trump's fellow Republicans, also strongly criticize the Saudi-led military campaign in Yemen.

WAR POWERS VOTE

The Senate was due to vote this week on whether to move ahead on a war powers resolution ending U.S. refueling of Saudi jets and other involvement in the Yemen war. Last month,  14 Republicans defied Trump and joined Democrats to allow the resolution to move ahead, underscoring concern about Khashoggi's death and a war that has created one of the world's worst humanitarian disasters.

Senator Bob Corker, the Republican chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said Tuesday he planned to introduce a joint resolution condemning Crown Prince Mohammed for the killing.

Asked during a Fox News interview about the CIA's findings, made with medium to high confidence, Pompeo said some reporting of the CIA findings has been inaccurate.

"This is still a developing set of facts with respect to the murder of Jamal Khashoggi," Pompeo said. He said direct evidence linking the crown prince to the killing "isn't yet available."

Pompeo repeatedly refused to say whether he believed the crown prince was behind the killing.

Washington imposed economic sanctions on 17 Saudi officials last month over the killing, stopping short of action that might affect arms deals Trump has vowed to preserve.

Pompeo pointed to the sanctions and said the United States would continue to hold accountable those proven to have been involved in the killing of Khashoggi, a U.S. resident and Washington Post columnist.

Riyadh initially denied knowledge of Khashoggi's disappearance, then offered contradictory explanations, including that he was killed in a rogue operation.

Trump condemned the murder but has stood by the Saudi crown prince, despite the CIA assessment.

"He's the leader of Saudi Arabia. They've been a very good ally," Trump told Reuters on Tuesday in an Oval Office interview.

Nikki Haley, the outgoing U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, told NBC News earlier that the administration needed to figure out a path forward with the Saudis.