Kushner says US in 'fact-finding' phase in Khashoggi death probe

The US is still in a "fact-finding phase" about the killing of Jamal Khashoggi, President Donald Trump's senior adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner said Monday as he advised the Saudi regime to be fully transparent in the investigation of the Saudi dissident journalist's death.

Khashoggi, 60, was brutally killed inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2, according to Turkish investigative agencies, who claim to have audio files with them of the incident.

"Right now, we're more in a fact-finding phase and we're obviously getting as many facts as we can from the different places and then we'll determine which facts are credible," Kushner told CNN in response to a question.

After days of conflicting statements, Saudi Arabia last week said that Khashoggi died in a fist fight inside the consulate during an interrogation.

The US has called for a detailed investigation into the killing of Khashoggi, who was an open critic of the current ruling establishment in Saudi Arabia.

President Trump has said that there would be consequences for this but has opposed the idea of cancelling major arms sale worth USD 110 billion to Saudi Arabia.

The US lawmakers have demanded severe action against Saudi Arabia. They allege that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman was behind the killing of Khashoggi, who used to write for The Washington Post.

The White House, including President Trump, has said there is no concrete evidence about it. Media reports say that the crown prince and Kushner, both in their 30s, are close friends.

"The world is watching," Kushner said was his advice to the Saudi crown prince, the defacto ruler of Saudi Arabia.

"This is a very, very serious accusation. A very serious situation. To be sure you're transparent and to take this very seriously."
"We have to be able to work with our allies, and Saudi Arabia has, I think, been a very strong ally in terms of pushing back on Iran's aggression."