Trump calls Khashoggi murder ‘worst cover-up in history’ as US revokes visas of some Saudi officials

Saudi authorities staged the “worst cover-up ever” in the killing of prominent journalist Jamal Khashoggi, President Donald Trump has said as the US announced its first punitive action in the case by revoking the visas of some of the senior Saudi officials involved.Khashoggi, a columnist for The Washington Post, disappeared after he entered the Saudi consulate in Turkey on October 2 to collect a document for his upcoming marriage to a Turkish woman.The Saudi government initially said he left the consulate through the back door.Following a global outrage, Riyadh on Friday in a statement acknowledged that Khashoggi was killed in a fistfight inside the consulate after an interrogation went wrong.Trump offered his most stinging indictment yet of a Saudi effort to silence a dissident journalist, calling the series of events that led to Khashoggi’s death “the worst cover up ever.” “They (the Saudis) had a very bad original concept. It was carried out poorly. And the cover-up was one of the worst in the history of cover-ups. Very simple. Bad deal. Should have never been thought of. Somebody really messed up. And they had the worst cover-up ever,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office Tuesday.Khashoggi’s death has severely dented the international reputation of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Tuesday that the US had “identified at least some” of the Saudi officials involved in the killing of Khashoggi and was revoking their visas.”These penalties will not be the last word on this matter from the United States. We will continue to explore additional measures to hold those accountable,” Pompeo said. “We’re making very clear that the United States does not tolerate this kind of ruthless action to silence Mr Khashoggi, a journalist, through violence.” The US will continue to seek all relevant facts, consult the Congress, and work with other nations, to hold accountable those responsible for the killing of Khashoggi, Pompeo told reporters. Given the information, currently, available with the United States, the administration is taking appropriate actions, he said. The visa revocation is the first punitive action the US has taken against Saudi Arabia since the death of Khashoggi, 60.Responding to a question on the probe into the death of Khashoggi, Trump said, “And where it should have stopped is at the deal standpoint, what they thought about it. Because whoever thought of that idea, I think, is in big trouble. And they should be in big trouble. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said the “savage murder” of the journalist was meticulously planned, and demanded that all those linked to the killing face punishment.