(WASHINGTON) — Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says there’s no intelligence connecting the order to murder Saudi writer Jamal Khashoggi to the Saudi crown prince.
Pompeo says “I do believe I’ve read every piece of intelligence” that came in “and there is no direct reporting connecting the crown prince to the order to murder Jamal Khashoggi.”
Pompeo spoke after he and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis briefed senators behind closed doors Wednesday on the U.S. response to the Khashoggi killing.
Pompeo urged senators to continue to support U.S. involvement in the war in Yemen and maintain strong ties to Saudi Arabia, a longtime U.S. ally.
U.S. intelligence agencies have made the assessment that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman would have at least known about the plot to kill Khashoggi. This led some lawmakers to call for the U.S. to take a tougher stand against Saudi Arabia.
