Here we go. Saudi Arabia has admitted that the journalist Jamal Khashoggi died, and what they know about it.
Watch below:
More from NBC:
Missing journalist Jamal Khashoggi is dead, Saudi Arabia’s general prosecutor said early Saturday morning local time.
The government said that Khashoggi got into a fight with the people he met at the consulate in Istanbul, Turkey. The kingdom alleged that Khashoggi died in that clash.
That explanation counters multiple reports of how Khashoggi died. Turkish officials told The New York Times that it has audio evidence which proves Khashoggi was tortured, killed and subsequently dismembered by a hit team of Saudi agents.
It also contradicts the Saudi government’s earlier account of events. Officials previously told reporters that the dissident journalist left the consulate shortly after he arrived.
The announcement comes more than two weeks after Khashoggi was last seen in public, entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. Khashoggi was a frequent critic of Saudi Arabia’s royal family and wrote columns for The Washington Post.
Marc Thiessen on Fox News said that the Saudis are going to lie about what happened, and we’re going to accept that lie. I think that’s exactly right. Trump doesn’t want to look too closely at the evil acts of the Saudis, who he considers allies. And he’s already made it clear that he doesn’t care if his friends, like Vladimir Putin, assassinate journalists…
UPDATE:
Lindsey Graham is skeptical.
To say that I am skeptical of the new Saudi narrative about Mr. Khashoggi is an understatement. https://t.co/am4fraUL6H
— Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) October 19, 2018
First we were told Mr. Khashoggi supposedly left the consulate and there was blanket denial of any Saudi involvement. Now, a fight breaks out and he’s killed in the consulate, all without knowledge of Crown Prince.
— Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) October 19, 2018
It’s hard to find this latest “explanation” as credible.
— Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) October 19, 2018