‘Milking’ Time for U.S. Again

Trump Says ‘Rogue Killers’ Likely Eliminated Khashoggi:

WASHINGTON - Donald Trump has speculated that "rogue killers” may have been responsible for the presumed death of the Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi, as he announced he was dispatching the U.S. Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo to Riyadh to discuss the deepening crisis with King Salman of Saudi Arabia.

After speaking to the Saudi king by phone, the U.S. president said Salman "denies any knowledge of whatever may have happened” to the journalist and was "working closely with Turkey” to find out what happened to him.

"The denial was very, very strong,” Trump told reporters. "It sounded to me like maybe these could have been rogue killers. Who knows?”

"All I can do is report what he told me. He told me in a very firm way that they had no knowledge of it. He said it very strongly,” Trump said.

The U.S. president’s claim that rogue elements may be responsible for Khashoggi’s disappearance implies he accepts that the journalist has been murdered – but is seeking a way out of the crisis that somehow absolves the Saudi royal court. 

King Salman also discussed the disappearance of the journalist with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday evening. 

Khashoggi has been missing since he stepped inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2, with Turkish officials saying they believe he has been killed.

Erdogan has behaved cautiously in the controversy, expressing concern but stopping short of directly accusing Riyadh. 

King Salman phoned Erdogan "to thank the president for welcoming the kingdom's proposal to form a joint working group" to discuss the disappearance, the Saudi foreign ministry said.

Few details have emerged over how the joint working group will function, sparking suspicion that Saudi Arabia might be trying to coax Turkey with certain concessions at a time of the latter's economic problems. 

Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Saudi Arabia had not cooperated in the investigation, despite proposing to create the joint working group with Turkish authorities.

Turkish officials have reportedly shared with Washington contents of video and audio recordings that allegedly contain evidence supporting claims that Khashoggi was murdered by the Saudi government.

President Trump initially made it clear that whatever the outcome of the inquiry into the disappearance of Khashoggi, the U.S. would not forgo billions of dollars in arms deals with Saudi Arabia.

However, he told CBS News on Saturday that the U.S. was investigating the case which he called "really terrible and disgusting” and that "there will be severe punishment”.

His remarks prompted Saudi Arabia to threaten to use its economic muscle to respond to any punitive measure but Rai al-Youm, a pan-Arab newspaper based in London, said the kingdom might have to ready itself for new "milking" by the U.S.

Saudi Arabia appears to be increasingly cornered. Britain, France and Germany, which have also tended to prioritize economic ties with Riyadh, issued a joint statement saying they "expect the Saudi government to provide a complete and detailed response”.

The kingdom seems to be taking on each challenge one by one, beginning with Turkey where the macabre incident took place. 

The Saudi foreign ministry said King Salman affirmed his country's "solid" relations with Turkey in the phone call with Erdogan, stressing that no one could undermine their relationship.

For his part, Erdogan reportedly expressed his keenness to enhance ties between the two countries.

Turkey's investigation into the disappearance of Khashoggi has reportedly revealed recordings made on his Apple Watch, which synced with his iPhone being carried outside the consulate by Khashoggi's fiancée.

The recordings purportedly indicated that the prominent Saudi journalist was tortured and killed at the kingdom's consulate in Istanbul, according to the Turkish Sabah daily.

The paper cited "reliable sources in a special intelligence department" as saying that Khashoggi is believed to have turned on the recording feature on the phone before entering the consulate.

The Washington Post, to which Khashoggi contributed as a columnist, has said the Turkish government had told U.S. officials it had audio and video recordings showing how Khashoggi was "interrogated, tortured and then murdered" by a 15-member Saudi security team inside the consulate before his body was dismembered.