“We believe that Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman has approved an operation in Istanbul, Turkey, to capture or kill Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi,” says the executive summary of the report.
“We based this assessment on the Crown Prince’s control of Kingdom decision-making, on the direct involvement of a key adviser and members of Muhammad bin Salman’s protection team in the operation and on the Crown Prince’s support for the use of violent measures to silence dissidents abroad, including Khashoggi, “says the report.
The Biden government provided Congress with the long-awaited disqualified intelligence report before its public release on Friday.
The report notes Bin Salman’s “absolute control” over Saudi intelligence and security operations.
“Since 2017, Prince Heir has had absolute control of Kingdom security and intelligence organizations, making it highly unlikely that Saudi authorities have carried out such an operation without Prince Heir authorization,” says the report.
He says the Saudi team of 15 people who arrived in Istanbul in October 2018, when Khashoggi was killed, included associate members of the Saudi Center for Media Studies and Affairs (CSMARC) at the Royal Court, led by an adviser close to Bin Salman , as well as “seven members of Muhammad bin Salman’s elite personal protection team, known as the Rapid Intervention Force”.
On Thursday, government officials suggested that Biden may also be considering an announcement of some kind of punishment for the Saudis as soon as the report is released.
When asked if the government would consider sanctions against those responsible for Khashoggi’s murder, State Department spokesman Ned Price said on Thursday: “I hope that we will soon be in a position to talk about measures to promote accountability for this horrible crime. ”
The report said that at the time of Khashoggi’s assassination, “the Crown Prince created an environment in which advisers feared that failure to complete the assigned tasks could result in his dismissal or imprisonment.”
Shortly after Khashoggi’s death in October 2018, the CIA assessed with great confidence that the Crown Prince had personally ordered the murder.
As a candidate, Biden said that Khashoggi was murdered “by order of the Crown Prince” and that the country should be treated as “the outcast he is”.
This story is emerging and will be updated.