Trump avoids casting blame for Khashoggi murder

The Trump administration is expected to finalize a report this week about the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi. President Donald Trump acknowledged over the weekend that the United States has an audio recording of the alleged murder on Oct. 2 at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul, but he doesn’t plan to listen to it because he has been fully briefed on its contents. Multiple news outlets have reported that the CIA believes Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ordered the killing. This week’s report will focus on who carried out the crime, the president said Sunday.

“Will anybody really know?” he said when asked who is to blame for the murder. “At the same time, we do have an ally, and I want to stick with an ally that in many ways has been very good.” Saudi Arabia has arrested 21 people in connection with Khashoggi’s death but insists the crown prince had nothing to do with it. Meanwhile, the German government said Monday it was canceling planned arm sales to Saudi Arabia over the killing.