Donald Trump says 'rogue killers' may have murdered Khashoggi

Donald Trump has speculated that “rogue killers” may have been responsible for the presumed death of the Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi, as he announced he was despatching the US secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, to Riyadh to discuss the deepening crisis with King Salman of Saudi Arabia.

After speaking to the Saudi king by phone, the US president said Salman “denies any knowledge of whatever may have happened” to the journalist and was “working closely with Turkey” to find out what happened to him.

“The denial was very, very strong,” Trump told reporters. “It sounded to me like maybe these could have been rogue killers. Who knows?”

“All I can do is report what he told me. He told me in a very firm way that they had no knowledge of it. He said it very strongly,” Trump said.

The president’s claim that rogue elements may be responsible for Khashoggi’s disappearance implies he accepts that the journalist has been murdered – but is seeking a way out of the crisis that somehow absolves the Saudi royal court.

Turey has already published details of a group of 15 men – some from Saudi intelligence – who arrived in Istanbul at the time of Khashoggi’s disappearance. Nine of the men arrived on a private jet from Riyadh.

The Trump administration is a close political and commercial ally of the Saudi kingdom, and would prefer to smooth over the crisis in relations between Turkey, and Riyadh – but is also under pressure to ensure a credible investigations takes place.

In a first step towards such an inquiry, Saudi Arabia on Monday ended a week-long impasse by agreeing to let Turkish investigators enter its consulate in Istanbul, where Khashoggi was last seen entering on 2 October, to undertake a full search.

It has also launched an internal investigation into the episode after an instruction from King Salman, father of the crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, whom Khashoggi had frequently criticised.

The case has provoked an international outcry, with Trump threatening “severe punishment” if it turns out Khashoggi was killed in the consulate, and European allies urging “a credible investigation” and accountability for those responsible. The White House has brushed aside threats by Saudi Arabia that it may economically retaliate for any US punitive action imposed over the suspected murder.

The kingdom agreed in principle on Friday to launch a joint investigation into Khashoggi’s disappearance in conjunction with Turkish police, but a search of the consulate was delayed by disagreements over the terms.

Turkish officers wanted to take in solvents to detect traces of blood, while the Saudis were insisting on a more limited search. Turkish sources repeated claims that it has audio of Khashoggi being killed inside the consulate, a revelation that implies the Turkish government were bugging the embassy.

Khashoggi has been missing since he entered the consulate a fortnight ago and is presumed to have been murdered. Leaks from the Turkish investigation suggest Khashoggi was interrogated by a Saudi team shortly before he died, with his body then dismembered either in the consulate or at the consul-general’s nearby residence.

Cleaners were seen entering the embassy on Monday in advance of the investigators entering the building.

A Saudi team that came to Turkey from Riyadh at the time of Khashoggi’s disappearance left hours after his presumed murder. The video footage of this team, and the fact that the flew into Istanbul on Saudi

Salman spoke to the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, on Sunday, and it is likely this call ended the impasse. The foreign ministers of Germany, France and the UK, also on Sunday, demanded Saudi Arabia allow a complete and full investigation.

Saudi Arabia has angrily rejected any suggestion it was involved in interrogating Khashoggi, who had visited the consulate on a planned trip in relation to his forthcoming marriage. It has offered no explanation for his disappearance or any pictures of him leaving the consulate.

Khashoggi was a critic of the regime in effect led by Bin Salman since his father appointed him crown prince in June 2017. There have been suggestions Khashoggi was previously concerned he was about to be captured by the Saudi court.

Western diplomats have privately expressed concern that Saudi Arabia could have used the lengthy interim since 2 October to remove any traces of Khashoggi’s interrogation.

Many lurid accounts of his alleged death have appeared in the Turkish press, based on apparent government sources, but ministers have been wary of repeating the claims in public.

Little has been said in public about the terms of the joint investigation, its timetable, terms of reference or likelihood of findings being published. Equally, no detail has been given concerning the internal investigation.

The scope for Erdoğan and the Saudi royal family coming to a wider accommodation on other issues – such as the future of Syria, their mutual economies or oil prices – in the context of the investigation are multiple.

The Turkish lira, under intense attack for months, strengthened on Monday, probably on news of a rapprochement between the US and Turkey, prompted by the Turkish court’s release of Andrew Brunson, a US pastor held in captivity for two years.

By contrast, the Saudi stock exchange was hit by severe losses on Sunday and a slide in the value of the riyal.

In a sign of possible tactical tensions within the kingdom, Saudi officials threatened reprisals against any country that imposed sanctions on Riyadh. However, its embassy in Washington later tweeted its gratitude to the US for showing restraint and not jumping to conclusions.

Saudi Arabia has also been activating its diplomatic network of allies to issue statements in support of Riyadh.

Trump has been Riyadh’s strongest ally over the past 18 months and the kingdom is aware it must try not to alienate either the White House or key senators in Congress.