Trump says "certainly looks" Khashoggi is dead, Pompeo denies hearing audio tape
Washington, Oct 19 : US President Donald Trump has said it "certainly looks" like Jamal Khashoggi is dead and threatened "very severe" consequences if Saudi Arabia is found to have murdered him, toughening his response to the disappearance of the dissident journalist that has sparked global outrage.
Trump's remarks came after he was briefed on the investigation by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo who returned from trips to Saudi Arabia and Turkey.
Khashoggi, 60, who has not been seen since October 2 when he entered Saudi Arabia's consulate in Istanbul, is feared to have been killed inside the mission.
The incident has resulted in global outrage, more so in the US where he lived as a legal permanent resident and worked for 'The Washington Post'.
"It certainly looks that way to me. It's very sad. Certainly, looks that way," Trump told reporters at Joint Air Force base Andrews on Thursday before leaving for Montana for a campaign rally.
Turkish investigators have told local as well as US media that Khashoggi was brutally killed inside the consulate.
Asked what consequence Saudi leaders would face if they are found to be responsible, Trump replied: "It will have to be very severe. It's bad, bad stuff. But we'll see what happens".
"We are waiting for some investigations, and waiting for the results. We will have them very soon, and I think we'll be making a statement, a very strong statement. But we're waiting for the results of about three different investigations, and we should be able to get to the bottom fairly soon," he said.
During his meeting with Trump, Pompeo suggested that Saudi Arabia be given some more time to complete the probe.
"We've made clear to them that we take this matter with respect to Mr Khashoggi very seriously. They've made clear to me they, too, understand the serious nature of the disappearance of Mr Khashoggi," Pompeo said.
He said the Saudi leadership had assured him that they will conduct a thorough investigation into the incident.
"I told President Trump this morning that we ought to give them a few more days to complete that, so that we, too, have a complete understanding of the facts. At which point we can make decisions about how or if the US should respond to the incident surrounding Khashoggi," he said.
Pompeo's spokesperson said he had neither heard a tape nor seen a transcript related to the disappearance of Khashoggi.
The statement came after ABC News claimed that Pompeo had heard the alleged audio recording during his meeting with the Turkish officials in Ankara.
"Secretary Pompeo has neither heard a tape nor has he seen a transcript related to Jamal Khashoggi's disappearance," State Department Spokesperson Heather Nauert said.
A day earlier, Pompeo refused to answer questions on the issue. "I don't have anything to say about that," he said.
Hours after his meeting with Pompeo, Trump told the New York Times in an interview that Khashoggi was assassinated, as per multiple intelligence sources.
"This one has caught the imagination of the world, unfortunately. It's not a positive. Not a positive," Trump said.
"Unless the miracle of all miracles happens, I would acknowledge that he's dead. That's based on everything intelligence coming from every side," he told the daily.
He reiterated the same to reporters' moments later.
Meanwhile, several lawmakers led by Congressman Jim McGovern introduced a legislation in the House to prohibit all US arms sales to Saudi Arabia until Secretary of State determines that the Saudi regime is not responsible for the disappearance or death of Khashoggi.
If the Saudi government is found to be culpable in Khashoggi's disappearance, the legislation prohibits all US military aid and sales to Saudi Arabia until the Congress passes a resolution approving such sales.
In a related development, the Committee to Protect Journalists, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, and Reporters Without Borders on Thursday urged Turkey to urgently ask UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to establish a UN investigation into the possible extrajudicial execution of Khashoggi.
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BS Yediyurappa appeals to MLA Yatnal's group to work unitedly to strengthen party
Bengaluru, Nov 26: With a group of Karnataka BJP leaders led by Bijapur MLA Basanagouda Patil Yatnal holding a parallel agitation over the waqf issue, veteran party leader B S Yediyurappa on Tuesday accused them of doing it because of their "self-conceit", and appealed them to work unitedly to strengthen the party.
The former Karnataka chief minister also said that everyone should take the responsibility for the party's defeat in the Assembly bypolls for three segments, even as the BJP's performance is being seen as a "setback" for his son and state president B Y Vijayendra.
"State president B Y Vijayendra has appealed to Basangouda Patil Yatnal and others to stop protesting separately, and work with us unitedly. Despite this, because of their self-conceit, they are doing such things. It is not right on their part," Yediyurappa said.
Speaking to reporters here, he said, "I appeal to them at least now to come forward and cooperate to strengthen the party together."
When told that they are not willing to work unitedly with the state's current leadership of the party and whether he will bring it to the notice of the high command, Yediyurappa said, "We will do our duty. The rest is left to them and central leadership...high command knows everything. Let's see what they will do."
Yatnal-led group include BJP MLAs Ramesh Jarkiholi, B P Harish, and former lawmakers Aravind Limbavali, Kumar Bangarappa and G M Siddeshwara and others.
The leaders, who had stayed away from the protest recently held by the party on the Waqf issue, on Monday held a parallel agitation over the issue in Bidar. Today, they are in Kalaburagi district.
Yatnal and Jarkiholi have been openly critical of Vijayendra, accusing him of indulging in "adjustment politics" with the ruling Congress, and trying to keep the party in his clutches along with his father Yediyurappa.
Noting that the party had faced a setback in the bypolls for Sandur, Shiggaon and Channapatna, Yediyurappa said, "We accept that. What shortcomings were being discussed in the party. It should be ensured that such things don't repeat."
To a question whether the bypoll loss is being seen as a setback to his son Vijayendra, he said, "It is not a question of Vijayendra or Yediyurappa. The loss in all the three seats is a setback for us (party). Everyone should take the responsibility and see to it that such things don't repeat."
