Pompeo to Trump: Saudis Need ‘A Few More Days’ for Khashoggi Investigation

Pompeo to Trump: Saudis Need ‘A Few More Days’ for Khashoggi Investigation
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks to the press about his trip to Saudi Arabia after meeting with US President Donald Trump in the West Wing of the White House in Washington on Oct. 18, 2018. SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images
Bowen Xiao
Bowen Xiao
Reporter
|Updated:

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said he spoke with President Donald Trump on Oct. 18 and told him that the United States should give Saudi Arabia more time to finalize their official investigation into the disappearance of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Meanwhile, the United States has pulled out of a major investment summit in the Saudi capital.

Pompeo told reporters that he had just briefed the president on his visit to Ankara and Riyadh, where both the Saudi and Turkish governments reiterated their commitments to a full investigation.

“We made clear to them that we take this matter very seriously,” Pompeo said. “They assured me that they will conduct a complete and thorough investigation.”

An official deadline on when the Saudis would complete their investigation was not mentioned. Pompeo said both Saudi Arabia and Turkey will complete their reports, which are being done separately, in a “timely fashion.”

“I told President Trump this morning that we ought to give them a few more days to complete that so we can get a complete understanding [of] the facts surrounding that,” he told reporters.

Bowen Xiao
Bowen Xiao
Reporter
Bowen Xiao was a New York-based reporter at The Epoch Times. He covers national security, human trafficking and U.S. politics.
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