Donald Trump refuses to listen to the tape of Saudi agents murdering journalist Jamal Khashoggi, even as his vice president vows punishment for the crime.
The president says that the recording, offered by the government of Turkey, would not change how he will respond to the 2nd of October execution. The CIA concluded that it was Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman who ordered the killing, which took place in the Saudi Arabian consulate in Istanbul, Turkey.
“Because it’s a suffering tape. It’s a terrible tape. I’ve been fully briefed on it, there’s no reason for me to hear it ,” Trump said on “Fox News Sunday.”
He also claimed that his staff told him he should not listen to the tape, and that it was, “very violent, very vicious, and terrible.”
“I know everything that went on in the tape without having to hear it,” Trump added.
When asked if bin Salman lied to the president, trump evaded, saying that bin Salman has told him he was not involved “maybe five times,” adding “Who can really know” if the crown prince is telling the truth.
Trump has evaded much on the murder, claiming while in California on Saturday — after the CIA findings — that there will be a “very full report” into the murder released early next week, and that this report, rather than the CIA’s own conclusions, will tell people “who did it.” It is, as of yet, unknown if those findings will be released to the public.
Trump has also stressed the importance of Saudi Arabia to the United States, including the financial ties to the country.
“We do have an ally, and I want to stick with an ally that in many ways has been very good,” Trump told Wallace on “Fox News Sunday.”
Meanwhile Vice President Mike Pence, for who reports have recently surfaced of growing rifts between him and the President, spoke out against the murder is clearer terms.
“The murder of Jamal Khashoggi was an atrocity. It was also an affront to a free and independent press and the United States is determined to hold all of those accountable who are responsible for that murder,” Pence said while in Papua New Guinea on Saturday.
Jamal Kashhoggi was a Saudi Arabian journalist who was working for the Washington Post at the time of his murder. He was a permanent resident of the United States.
Watch the full interview below:
Image via screen capture from video source.