Khashoggi killing: Trump slams 'worst cover-up ever'

US President Donald Trump has charged that a Saudi operation to kill journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Riyadh's consulate in Istanbul had given rise to "one of the worst cover-ups" in history.

"They had a very bad original concept. It was carried out poorly and the cover-up was one of the worst in the history of cover-ups," Trump declared Tuesday in the Oval Office.

"Bad deal, should have never been thought of. Somebody really messed up. And they had the worst cover-up ever," he added.

"Because whoever thought of that idea, I think is in big trouble. And they should be in big trouble. Okay?"
Asked about Erdogan's call for those behind Khashoggi's "savage murder" to face punishment, Trump said the Turkish president had been "pretty rough on Saudi Arabia."