Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) said today that the Trump administration is restricting access to information about a missing Saudi journalist, a move that comes as President Trump has publicly echoed denials of wrongdoing from top Saudi officials.
Corker, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said that the administration had “clamped down” on sharing intelligence about Washington Post contributor Jamal Khashoggi, a critic of the Saudi government who has been missing for more than two weeks.
“I can only surmise that probably the intel is not painting a pretty picture as it relates to Saudi Arabia,” Corker told The Post.
Corker added that the administration canceled an intelligence briefing scheduled for Tuesday and that he was told additional information would not be shared with the Senate at this time, a development he described as “disappointing.”
Jamal Khashoggi
With the Senate out of town for a roughly month-long recess, Corker has remained largely silent this week as the latest drama around Khashoggi’s disappearance and potential slaying has played out on the world stage.
But he told reporters late last week that “everything indicates” that Khashoggi was murdered by the Saudis.
He went a step further on Wednesday, telling the Post that, based on earlier intelligence he was able to review, “everything points … to MBS,” he said referring to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
“This could not have happened without his approval,” Corker added.
Gruesome details are emerging as Turkey claimed yesterday to have a recording of Khashoggi’s final moments before he was murdered.
His killers were waiting when Khashoggi walked into the Saudi consulate in Istanbul two weeks ago. They severed his fingers and later beheaded and dismembered him, according to details from audio recordings described by a senior Turkish official.
Speaking to reporters at the White House yesterday, Trump, who has defended Saudi Arabia, even floating the idea that it was “rogue killers,” said the administration had requested access to recorded evidence from the Turkish authorities “if it exists” and that it “probably does.”
Trump, and his son Erik, have denied having personal financial interests in Saudi Arabia, but that is not true.