Trump says he'll be briefed on CIA assessment about journalist's killing

A senior US official and a source familiar with the matter told CNN on Friday that the agency's assessment — that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman personally ordered the killing — is based on a recording provided by the Turkish government and other evidence, including American intelligence. The CIA's assessment was first reported by The Washington Post.

Before departing the White House on Saturday morning, the President told reporters that he had "not been briefed yet" on the CIA's assessment, but that he will be speaking with the agency and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo during his flight to California in the wake of the state's wildfires.

CIA concludes Saudi crown prince ordered Jamal Khashoggi's death, sources say

"As of this moment, we were told that he did not play a role," Trump said of bin Salman, the 33-year-old de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia, who has a close relationship with Trump's senior adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner. "We're going to have to find out what they have to say."

Khashoggi, an outspoken critic of Saudi Arabia's government, went missing in early October after he visited the Saudi consulate in Istanbul for marriage papers. The Saudi government gave changing explanations for Khashoggi's disappearance before admitting that the journalist died and claiming it was a result of an altercation at the consulate.

Khashoggi's death has created a crisis for the Trump administration, raising questions about the United States' reliance on the kingdom to help achieve peace in the Middle East, contain Iran and keep oil prices steady.

Trump said Saturday that the US has "a great ally in Saudi Arabia."

"They give us a lot of jobs, they give us a lot of business, a lot of economic development," he said, adding that the country has been "a truly spectacular ally in terms of jobs and economic development."

US investigators believe an operation such as the one that ended in Khashoggi's death would not have happened without bin Salman's knowledge, given his control of the government, the senior US official told CNN.

Riyadh still contends that the crown prince had no involvement in Khashoggi's death.

The Trump administration on Thursday imposed penalties on 17 individuals over their alleged roles in the killing of Khashoggi.

Earlier Thursday, the Saudi Public Prosecutor's Office said 11 people had been charged for their involvement in the death of Khashoggi, adding that five are facing capital punishment for being directly involved in "ordering and executing the crime."

Khashoggi was killed following "a fight and a quarrel" at the Saudi consulate, the prosecutor's office claimed. Prosecutors said Khashoggi was tied up and injected with an overdose of a sedative that killed him. Then, according to prosecutors, his body was dismembered and removed from the consulate by five people.

CNN's Liz Stark, Elise Labott and Jeremy Herb contributed to this report.

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