A transcript of the tape would not necessarily compromise the Turkish intelligence gathering methods and would go a long way to getting past some diplomatic prevarication. That the Turks have surveillance evidence makes their claims even more credible.
Now it appears that Trump may have actually had some foreknowledge of a possible rendition of Khashoggi, which now apparently is a murder.
Since we cannot trust the WH to be honest about this information for a variety of kleptocratic reasons, other means need to be attempted.
One of the 15 Saudis named by Turkish officials as being involved in the disappearance of a journalist last seen entering a diplomatic consulate in Istanbul is a forensic expert known for pioneering rapid and mobile autopsies, according to Arab media reports and his own academic writings. Salah Muhammed al-Tubaigy flew into Istanbul shortly after Washington Post contributor Jamal Khashoggi entered the Saudi consulate and flew out nine hours later, Turkish officials say.
The alleged presence of Tubaigy, who has taught and published papers on gathering DNA evidence and dissecting human bodies, amplifies a macabre narrative put forth by Turkish investigators that a team of Saudis killed Khashoggi and then dismembered his body to conceal the murder.
A Post review of academic writings, social media accounts, telephone logs and other documents related to Tubaigy suggests he may have been something of an outsider among two groups of Saudis that Turkish officials say arrived and departed, mostly on private jets, around the time of Khashoggi’s disappearance.
Seven of the 15 self-identify in social media profiles or published accounts as members of Saudi military. Four of those, plus two others, also identify themselves in a subscription phone app as members of the Royal Guard, according to screen shots from the app, MenoM3ay, reviewed by The Post. Their claims on social media could not be independently confirmed.
Since becoming crown prince in July 2017, Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) has directed a wide-ranging crackdown on dissidents under the guise of fighting corruption and extremism. Though he touts the need to modernize and open Saudi Arabia, Salman's reform agenda has become an effective way to remove independent voices.
Saudi Arabia was already one of the world's most heavily censored countries. But under Salman's rule, authorities have wielded state mechanisms ostensibly focused on terrorism to silence journalists, including Marwan al-Mureisi. In February, CPJ documented how a specialized criminal court sentenced prominent columnist Saleh al-Shehi to five years in prison for "insulting the royal court" after the journalist commented on allegations of corruption on TV and in his writing.
The specialized criminal court is part of a system established in 2008 to prosecute terrorism-related cases, but CPJ has found the system is increasingly used to try journalists and perceived dissidents.
CPJ is investigating the possible jailing of at least 10 other journalists since Salman took power, but news of detentions sometimes doesn't surface for months. Activists in contact with CPJ often have no knowledge of when authorities detained someone or where they are holding them. The journalists' profile pages and blogs disappear behind "404 not found" messages, leaving only a breadcrumb trail of social media posts that stop the day of a rumored arrest.
cpj.org/...
Yet it is also the culmination of a series of reckless moves by the crown prince. As defence minister he spearheaded the charge into the disastrous ongoing war in Yemen, in which tens of thousands have died. He has launched a blockade that failed to bring Qatar to its knees; ordered the detention of hundreds of powerful businessmen, including royals, in an “anti-corruption campaign”; overseen the Lebanese prime minister Saad Hariri’s extraordinary resignation on a visit to Riyadh (later retracted); locked up female activists who campaigned for the right to drive even as it was granted; and overreacted absurdly when Canada dared to criticise those detentions. Remarkably little was done or even said in response. Such muted international reaction has emboldened him.
If Turkey does not offer incontrovertible evidence of Mr Khashoggi’s killing, western allies will find it easier to continue as usual, however unconvincing Riyadh’s denials of involvement. Mr Trump has made it clear that arms sales are a priority.
Yet this could still prove a turning point in the long term. Investors looking forward to the “Davos in the Desert” conference this month may be thinking again about where to put their money. And foreign allies can no longer overlook the nature of the regime, which hardly looks like a force for stability in the region. The toll in Yemen should already have halted arms sales by the US, the UK and others. But a broader rethinking of the relationship is needed. The approach of the Trump administration and others has enabled the crown prince’s abuse. What happened to Mr Khashoggi looks like one tragic result. The danger is that it will not be the last.
www.washingtonpost.com/...
Sanctions that might trigger the Magnitsky Act seem to have a fake price tag
U.S. officials, however, pushed back on calls to halt arms sales to Riyadh, calling such demands premature.
“I think they’re jumping to conclusions,” said Nauert, the State Department spokeswoman. “This is entirely a hypothetical situation at this point. We don’t know what happened. We don’t have the facts of the case.”
Trump also dismissed the possibility.
“They’re spending $110 billion purchasing military equipment and other things,” he said of the Saudis during the bill signing in the Oval Office. “If we don’t sell it to them, they’ll say, ‘Well, thank you very much. We’ll buy it from Russia.’ Or ‘Thank you very much. We’ll buy it from China.’ That doesn’t help us — not when it comes to jobs and not when it comes to our companies losing out on that work.”
(WaPo)
And Trump’s claim constitutes more lies.
When Trump completed his visit May, 2017 trip to Saudi Arabia, claiming $270 billion in sales, we gave him Three Pinocchios after a review of the data. The $110 billion in military sales aroused great skepticism among experts, with Bruce Riedel of the Brookings Institution calling the claim “fake news.”
Most of the publicly announced items had been previously announced by the Obama administration and there appeared to be few, if any, signed contracts. Rather, many of the announcements were MOIs — memorandums of intent. There were six specific items, adding up to $28 billion, but all had been previously notified to Congress by the Obama administration.
After Trump’s remarks on Khashoggi, Reidel said the $110 billion figure was “still fake.”
He said the Saudis have not bought locked in the arms deals touted by Trump, even a $15 billion deal for Terminal High Altitude Area Defense anti-ballistic missile system that has received preliminary approval from Congress. He noted that the Saudis let a September deadline for the deal lapse with Lockheed Martin, despite a 20 percent price cut.
(WaPo)