Trump pressured from both sides of aisle over Khashoggi death

Pressure is mounting on the administration of US President Donald Trump over its stance on the murder of Saudi dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Turkey.

Saudi Arabia’s official explanation of the death, which Trump called “credible,” has failed to satisfy Republicans and Democrats in US Congress.

“Saudi Arabia’s changing stories on Khashoggi’s murder is getting old,” said Florida Republican Senator Marco Rubio on Twitter Saturday, calling the Saudi account that Khashoggi was killed in a fistfight “bizarre.”

The US president, meanwhile, was trying to walk a fine line by deflecting questions on the royal family’s involvement and flip-flopping on the issue when possible not to damage close ties with the country’s de facto leader, Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman Al Saud.

"I'm not satisfied until we find the answer," Trump said, adding that the US withdrawal from the $110 billion arms deal would "hurt us more than it would hurt them."

PressTV-Kushner, bin Salman talking on Whatsapp amid scandal

Jared Kushner and bin Salman are communicating through Whatsapp amid Khashoggi scandal.

Saudi Arabia acknowledged the murder for the first time on Friday, yet leaving many questions unanswered about the journalist’s death at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2.

“The story the Saudis have told about Jamal Khashoggi’s disappearance continues to change with each passing day, so we should not assume their latest story holds water,” said Tennessee Republican Senator Bob Corker, who chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. “They can undergo their own investigation, but the US administration must make its own independent, credible determination of responsibility for Khashoggi’s murder.”

PressTV-Bin Salman has to go: Top US senator

Senator Lindsey Graham unloaded on the Saudi crown prince for “tainting” himself and Saudi Arabia by “murdering” dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

South Carolina Republican Senator Lindsey Graham went even further, totally undermining the Saudi crisis management.

“To say that I am skeptical of the new Saudi narrative about Mr. Khashoggi is an understatement,” he tweeted. “It’s hard to find this latest ‘explanation’ as credible.”

The Saudis are busy devising a plan to shield the royal family, particularly the crown prince, from being implicated in the embarrassing assassination.

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