“We assess that Prince Muhammad bin Salman, Crown of Saudi Arabia, has agreed to take action in Istanbul, Turkey to capture or kill Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi,” the executive summary of the report saying.
“We base this assessment of the Prince of the Crown’s control over decision-making in the Kingdom, the direct involvement of the principal adviser and members of Muhammad bin Salman’s defense details in the work, and the support of The Crown Prince for the use of brutal measures to suppress disagreements abroad. , including Khashoggi, “the report states.
The Biden administration handed the long-awaited confirmed intelligence report to Congress before it was released to the public on Friday.
The report notes bin Salman’s “total control” over Saudi intelligence and security activity.
“Since 2017, The Crown Prince has had complete control over the UK’s security and intelligence agencies, making it highly unlikely that Saudi officials would have carried out such activity without the Crown Prince’s consent. “The report states.
It says a 15-person Saudi team arrived in Istanbul in October 2018 when Khashoggi was assassinated including members affiliated with the Saudi Center for Investigations and Media Affairs (CSMARC) at the Royal Court, on the led by bin Salman’s close adviser, as well as “seven of Muhammad bin Salman’s elite personal defense details, known as the Rapid Intervention Force.”
On Thursday, administration officials also blocked Biden from considering the release of some sort of punishment for the Saudis once the report was published.
Asked if the administration would consider sanctions against those found responsible for Khashoggi’s murder, State Department spokesman Ned Price said on Thursday, “I expect we will be in a position to too long to talk of measures to encourage accountability going forward for this heinous crime. “”
The report said that, at the time of Khashoggi’s assassination, “the crown prince was cultivating an environment in which supporters feared he could shoot them or arrest them.”
Shortly after Khashoggi’s death in October 2018, the CIA assessed with high confidence that the crown prince had personally ordered their assassination.
As a candidate, Biden said Khashoggi was assassinated “on the order of the crown prince” and that the country should be treated as “the pariah they are.”
This story breaks and will be updated.