The meeting comes as the Trump administration is desperately trying to manage raging criticism from lawmakers and growing international pressure to act as evidence mounts tying the father of four's disappearance to the Saudi royal family.
Trump said Wednesday that he expects Pompeo to deliver "a full report" on his trip to Riyadh, where the top US diplomat met with King Salman and the kingdom's de facto ruler, 33-year-old Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
Trump has stressed the "strong denial" from the crown prince and Pompeo has insisted that the Saudis be given more time to investigate the Washington Post journalist's October 2 disappearance -- and insisted he is not giving "cover" to Saudi Arabia to come up with an explanation.
Damning details
But as details continue to emerge about Khashoggi's suspected murder inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul -- and sources float the possibility that blame will fall on a "rogue" operative -- the administration's effort to defend Saudi Arabia is creating pushback and raising questions about Trump's potential conflicts of interest.
Some lawmakers are calling for an independent international inquiry as others are asking the President to report to Congress within a month about any personal financial ties he might have to the Kingdom that might create conflicts of interest.
"According to public reports, the Trump Organization for decades has maintained business relationships with the government of Saudi Arabia and members of the Saudi royal family," a group of Democratic senators wrote the President on Wednesday.
"Your recent statements, and public reports of increased spending by the Saudi government at Trump properties, raise significant concerns about financial conflicts of interest," the lawmakers wrote.
No comments:
Post a Comment