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October 16, 2018

Trump Floats "Rogue Killers" Narrative of Khashoggi Disappearance
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On Monday, President Trump said he'd spoken by phone with Saudi King
Salman, who denied any knowledge of Khashoggi's whereabouts.

President Donald Trump: "The king firmly denied any knowledge of it. He
didn't really know. Maybe-I-I don't want to get into his mind, but it
sounded to me like maybe these could have been rogue killers. Who knows?
We're going to try getting to the bottom of it very soon. But his was a
flat denial."

Trump has claimed Saudi Arabia would suffer "severe consequences" if it
was responsible for Khashoggi's disappearance, but he's repeatedly said
the U.S. should not limit weapons sales to the kingdom. A growing number
of U.S. lawmakers, including some Republicans, have called for
sanctions. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has arrived in Riyadh, where
he met with Saudi King Salman to discuss the disappearance of Khashoggi.
They reportedly spoke for less than 15 minutes.


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