Khashoggi murder: US senators say CIA briefing solidifies their view of Prince Mohammed's complicity

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ordered the killing of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi, a bipartisan group of senior US senators have alleged after the CIA director gave them a classified briefing on the grisly murder inside the Gulf kingdom's diplomatic mission shocked the world.

Khashoggi, a US resident, was murdered in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, on October 2. After initially denying the murder, Riyadh has acknowledged that Khashoggi was killed inside the consulate but blamed his death on a "rogue" operation. The Saudis have charged 11 people in the case.

Top officials from the administration of President Donald Trump have said they have seen no direct evidence linking the murder of the 59-year-old journalist to Mohammed, but the CIA reportedly has found a link, US media reported.

Prince Mohammed "is a wrecking ball," Senator Lindsey Graham, a Republican from South Carolina, told reporters after an hour-long briefing by the CIA Director, Gina Haspel on Tuesday.

The spy agency has evidence he exchanged messages with Saud al-Qahtani, who allegedly oversaw Khashoggi's murder when he went to the consulate to obtain paperwork for his upcoming marriage. Haspel, who has reportedly heard an audio recording of the murder, has briefed President Trump about it last month.

"I think he's complicit in the murder of Mr. Khashoggi to the highest level possible," Graham said.

"There's not a smoking gun, there's a smoking saw," said Graham, referring to reports that the Saudi team had included a forensic expert who arrived in Istanbul with equipment to dismember Khashoggi's body.

Senator Richard Shelby, Republican of Alabama and the Appropriations Committee Chairman, echoed that "all evidence points to that, that all this leads back to the crown prince."
Another senator, Bob Corker, told reporters, using the crown prince's initials: "I have zero question on my mind that the crown prince MBS ordered the killing."
The Tennessee Republican added: "If he was in front of a jury, he would be convicted in 30 minutes. Guilty."
On November 20, he said: "It could very well be that the crown prince had knowledge of this tragic event - maybe he did and maybe he didn't."