WASHINGTON – Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says the Trump administration is revoking the visas of some Saudi officials implicated in the death of writer Jamal Khashoggi.

Pompeo announced the step at a State Department news conference Tuesday. Vice President Mike Pence said earlier that Khashoggi’s death at Saudi Arabia’s consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, “will not go without an American response.”

The visa revocations are the first punitive measures taken by the administration against the Saudis since Khashoggi disappeared after entering the consulate on Oct. 2.

Visa records are considered confidential and Pompeo did not say which or how many Saudi officials would have their visas revoked. Saudi authorities have detained 18 people in connection with Khashoggi’s death, which officials say was accidental despite Turkish allegations that Khashoggi was intentionally killed. </s> WASHINGTON – The Trump administration revoked the visas Tuesday of some Saudi officials implicated in the killing of writer Jamal Khashoggi in its first punitive measure against its longtime Middle East partner, as President Donald Trump denounced the kingdom for one of the “worst coverups in the history of coverups.”

Shortly after Trump made the comment, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the administration was moving to revoke the visas of Saudi government and intelligence agents suspected of involvement in the death of Khashoggi.

Visa records are confidential and Pompeo was not more specific about who the revocations would affect, but the State Department later said 21 “Saudi suspects” would have visas revoked or would be declared ineligible to enter the U.S.

“These penalties will not be the last word on this matter,” Pompeo told reporters at the State Department. The administration “will continue to hold those responsible accountable. We’re making very clear that the United States does not tolerate this kind of ruthless action to silence Mr. Khashoggi, a journalist, with violence,” he said. “Neither the president or I am happy with this situation.”

Members of Congress have demanded that sanctions be imposed on Saudi Arabia over the killing of Khashoggi, a U.S. resident and Washington Post contributor who disappeared after entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, on Oct. 2. Turkish authorities say Khashoggi was the victim of a pre-planned assassination operation while Saudi officials have conceded that he died but that his killing occurred accidentally while they were trying to convince him to return home.

Trump has resisted calls thus far to cut off arms sales to the kingdom and Pompeo stressed the strategic importance of the U.S.-Saudi relationship.

“We continue to view as achievable the twin imperative of protecting America and holding accountable those responsible for the killing of Mr. Khashoggi,” Pompeo said. “We want to make sure that everyone understands that the United States doesn’t believe that this killing of Jamal Khashoggi was anything other than a horrific act and we hope that we can work together both with Congress and our allies to hold those responsible accountable.”

In his remarks to reporters at the White House, Trump derided the initial Saudi denial of any wrongdoing and efforts to conceal what happened to Khashoggi.

“They had a very bad original concept,” Trump said. “It was carried out poorly and the coverup was one of the worst coverups in the history of coverups. Somebody really messed up and they had the worst coverup ever.”

Saudi Arabia has claimed Khashoggi, who lived in self-imposed exile in the U.S. and wrote critically about Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, died accidentally in a brawl at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2.

But Turkish officials say a 15-men team tortured, killed and dismembered the writer and say Saudi officials had planned the killing for days. </s> WASHINGTON (AP) - The Trump administration revoked the visas Tuesday of some Saudi officials implicated in the killing of writer Jamal Khashoggi in its first punitive measure against its longtime Middle East partner, as President Donald Trump denounced the kingdom for one of the "worst cover-ups in the history of cover-ups."

Shortly after Trump made the comment, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the administration was moving to revoke the visas of Saudi government and intelligence agents suspected of involvement in the death of Khashoggi.

Visa records are confidential and Pompeo was not more specific about who the revocations would affect, but the State Department later said 21 "Saudi suspects" would have visas revoked or would be declared ineligible to enter the U.S.

"These penalties will not be the last word on this matter," Pompeo told reporters at the State Department. The administration "will continue to hold those responsible accountable. We're making very clear that the United States does not tolerate this kind of ruthless action to silence Mr. Khashoggi, a journalist, with violence," he said. "Neither the president or I am happy with this situation."

Members of Congress have demanded that sanctions be imposed on Saudi Arabia over the killing of Khashoggi, a U.S. resident and Washington Post contributor who disappeared after entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, on Oct. 2. Turkish authorities say Khashoggi was the victim of a pre-planned assassination operation while Saudi officials have conceded that he died but that his killing occurred accidentally while they were trying to convince him to return home.

Trump has resisted calls thus far to cut off arms sales to the kingdom and Pompeo stressed the strategic importance of the U.S.-Saudi relationship.

"We continue to view as achievable the twin imperative of protecting America and holding accountable those responsible for the killing of Mr. Khashoggi," Pompeo said. "We want to make sure that everyone understands that the United States doesn't believe that this killing of Jamal Khashoggi was anything other than a horrific act and we hope that we can work together both with Congress and our allies to hold those responsible accountable."

In his remarks to reporters at the White House, Trump derided the initial Saudi denial of any wrongdoing and efforts to conceal what happened to Khashoggi.

"They had a very bad original concept," Trump said. "It was carried out poorly and the cover-up was one of the worst cover-ups in the history of cover-ups. Somebody really messed up and they had the worst cover-up ever."

Saudi Arabia has claimed Khashoggi, who lived in self-imposed exile in the U.S. and wrote critically about Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, died accidentally in a brawl at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2.

But Turkish officials say a 15-men team tortured, killed and dismembered the writer and say Saudi officials had planned the killing for days. </s> DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo lands in Saudi Arabia on a trip over disappearance of Saudi writer Jamal Khashoggi. </s> Secretary of State Mike Pompeo arrived in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Tuesday morning for urgent meetings with King Salman bin Abdulaziz, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir to discuss the disappearance of Jamal Khashoggi.

Turkish officials said they expect Pompeo to visit Ankara next, bringing important information about the case from the Saudis.

Rumors swirled on Tuesday morning that the Saudis are on the verge of admitting they killed Khashoggi in their consulate in Istanbul two weeks ago, an admission that would shake up the power structure of the Middle East, seriously damage American policy in the region, and potentially touch off a political crisis in Washington. Saudi officials have not commented on the reports, based on unnamed “sources.”

The U.S. State Department reported on Tuesday that Pompeo discussed a “range of regional and bilateral issues” with Foreign Minister al-Jubeir in addition to stressing “U.S. concern over Jamal Khashoggi’s disappearance.”

Pompeo thanked King Salman for “Saudi Arabia’s strong partnership with the United States,” and also for his “commitment to supporting a thorough, transparent, and timely investigation of Jamal Khashoggi’s disappearance.”

In a similar conversation with the crown prince, Pompeo stated the Trump administration’s desire to “determine what happened” to Khashoggi and welcomed bin Salman’s support for a “thorough, transparent, and timely investigation that provides answers.”

According to CNN, Pompeo met with King Salman for 15 minutes and spent no more than 40 minutes talking to Crown Prince bin Salman. Pompeo and the crown prince are scheduled to speak at greater length at dinner on Tuesday evening.

Behind the scenes, numerous media outlets quoted anonymous inside sources who said the Saudi monarchy is preparing to admit that, contrary to its vociferous previous denials, Saudi agents did murder Khashoggi within the Istanbul consulate.

The CBS News version of this story quoted “officials” who are “close to the kingdom” claiming the monarchy will admit Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman approved an operation to detain Khashoggi and interrogate him when he visited the consulate to obtain papers necessary for his impending marriage. These sources said Khashoggi “died as a result of an interrogation by Saudi operatives that went wrong.”

CBS then quoted a third source who claimed the story will be that a “general close to the crown prince” ordered the operation on his own, as discovered by the joint investigation Saudi Arabia has been conducting with Turkey. The statement of culpability will supposedly state this general “exceeded his authority and will be held accountable.”

This storyline is problematic for a number of reasons, not least that King Salman personally informed U.S. President Donald Trump in a phone call over the weekend that Saudi Arabia had absolutely nothing to do with Khashoggi’s disappearance. For the past two weeks, the Saudis claimed Khashoggi left the Istanbul consulate peacefully and then vanished. They have not been able to provide any evidence in the form of security video or documentation to back up this claim.

The Turkish government has allegedly been the source of sensational stories about Khashoggi suffering torture, death, and dismemberment at the hands of a 15-member death squad sent from Saudi Arabia to the consulate on the day of his disappearance. Among other details, these stories have claimed he was dismembered with a bone saw after his death, his body parts were either smuggled out of the consulate or dissolved in acid, and his Apple Watch recorded horrifying audio of his death by torture.

None of the evidence described in Turkish media leaks appears to have been shared with outside analysts, presented to the media, or confirmed by named government sources, although it is possible investigators from the U.S. or other countries have reviewed the material without making any public statement or backstage leaks yet.

The Turkish government has been somewhat less accusatory than the individuals anonymously leaking to Turkish and international media, but on Tuesday President Recep Tayyip Erdogan directly accused the Saudi consulate of concealing evidence from investigators.

“My hope is that we can reach conclusions that will give us a reasonable opinion as soon as possible, because the investigation is looking into many things such as toxic materials and those materials being removed by painting them over,” Erdogan said at a press conference on Tuesday after Turkish investigators entered the consulate for the first time. The “toxic material” in question would most likely be the acid supposedly used to dissolve Khashoggi’s remains.

Relations between Turkey and Saudi Arabia have become strained enough to require Pompeo act as mediator. Turkey’s Yeni Safak, a newspaper strongly supportive of President Erdogan and his administration, reported on Tuesday that Pompeo will bring “information” from the Saudis on the next leg of his emergency trip to the Middle East.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Turkish prosecutors may “ask for the testimony” of Saudi consular officials and then held the door open for the Saudi consul general to flee Turkey ahead of the investigation if he feels compelled to avoid giving testimony.

“If any Saudi diplomat wants to go to their country, they can go. There is no restriction,” said Cavusoglu, essentially dropping a rake on the ground and inviting the Saudis to step on it.

U.N. human rights chief Michelle Bachelet on Tuesday called on Saudi Arabia to waive all diplomatic privileges for consular officials and cooperate fully with the investigation.

“Under international law, both a forced disappearance and an extra-judicial killing are very serious crimes, and immunity should not be used to impede investigations into what happened and who is responsible,” Bachelet stated.

Between the U.N. statements and Pompeo’s trip to Riyadh, the maximum possible space has been created for Saudi Arabia to make the next move, but the window of polite opportunity will only stay open for a few days.

Saudi Arabia could be facing a major internal crisis. It is certainly possible to demote a crown prince – that is how Mohammed bin Salman got the job – but bin Salman is an extraordinarily powerful crown prince who holds numerous important offices in the Saudi government and is chiefly responsible for the ambitious reform agenda that was intended to show foreign partners and investors Saudi Arabia is now a stable and modern place to do business. In other words, bin Salman spent the past few years trying to convince the world Saudi Arabia is not the sort of country that would lure a man into a consulate and torture him to death while his fiancee waited outside.

A political crisis may be brewing in Washington as well. A portion of the Republican caucus is making it clear they expect strong action against the Saudis if they murdered Khashoggi.

Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) on Sunday called for Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin to cancel his trip to Saudi Arabia for the “Davos in the Desert” investment conference to be hosted by Crown Prince bin Salman later this month.

Senator Lindsay Graham (R-SC), who became a surprisingly ferocious ally of the Trump administration during the confirmation battle for Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, declared on Tuesday that Crown Prince bin Salman “has got to go,” and he is ready to “sanction the hell” out of Saudi Arabia over the disappearance of Jamal Khashoggi.

“I feel personally offended. They have nothing but contempt for us,” Graham said of the Saudis. “[The Crown Prince] is a wrecking ball. He had this guy murdered in a consulate in Turkey, and to expect me to ignore it – I feel used and abused.” </s> U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met Saudi Arabia’s King Salman on Tuesday to discuss the disappearance of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, as Turkish police prepared to search the Saudi consul’s residence in Istanbul in a widening probe.

Khashoggi, a U.S. resident and leading critic of the Saudi crown prince, vanished after entering the consulate on Oct. 2. Turkish officials say they believe he was murdered there and his body removed, which the Saudis strongly deny.

President Donald Trump, who dispatched Pompeo to Riyadh amid strained ties with the key ally, has speculated that “rogue killers” may be responsible after speaking with King Salman. </s> The United States said Tuesday it was revoking visas of Saudi officials involved in the "brutal murder" of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, in its first major action against the longtime ally as global outrage escalated.

The visa curbs came as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Khashoggi's killing inside the Saudis' Istanbul consulate had been meticulously planned, in a speech that overshadowed a long-planned investment forum in Riyadh.

Faced with mounting calls for tough measures by US lawmakers across the political spectrum, the State Department said it had identified 21 Saudis whose visas would either be revoked or who would be ineligible for future visas.

"These penalties will not be the last word on this matter from the United States. We will continue to explore additional measures to hold those responsible accountable," Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told reporters.

"We are making very clear that the United States does not tolerate this kind of action to silence Mr. Khashoggi, a journalist, through violence," he said.

The top US diplomat said the Saudi suspects came from "the intelligence services, the royal court, the foreign ministry and other Saudi ministries."

Pompeo said the United States was also looking into whether to take action under a law named after Sergei Magnitsky, the anti-corruption accountant who died in Russian custody, that would impose financial sanctions on individuals behind Khashoggi's death.

The initial US action against the Saudis came three weeks after Khashoggi, self-exiled to suburban Washington, vanished in the consulate and following contradictory statements by President Donald Trump, who has ruled out major steps such as cutting arms sales to the major defense partner.

Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, Trump said the Saudis had a "very bad original concept" in killing the 59-year-old Saudi insider-turned-critic.

"It was carried out poorly and the cover-up was one of the worst in the history of cover-ups," Trump said.

Vice President Mike Pence, in an appearance at The Washington Post, where Khashoggi was a contributing opinion writer, denounced the "brutal murder" and said: "The world is watching. The American people want answers and we will demand that those answers are forthcoming."

Pence said Erdogan's account -- the most substantive remarks on the case by the Turkish leader -- "flies in the face" of the Saudis' earlier assertions.

Saudi Arabia -- whose ambitious crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, has been amassing power -- initially claimed Khashoggi left freely after visiting the consulate, where he was completing paperwork for his upcoming marriage.

But as pressure grew, Saudi state media changed the story and said Khashoggi died when an argument descended into a fistfight, an account that was swiftly denounced overseas even if Trump initially said he found it credible.

Erdogan said that a 15-person team came from Riyadh to kill Khashoggi, including by carrying out reconnaissance outside Istanbul and deactivating security cameras at the consulate.

He said 18 suspects detained by Saudi Arabia should be extradited to Istanbul to face trial over the killing and called for an investigation into those with "even the slightest link" to the case.

But the Turkish leader did not mention some of the most striking claims that appeared in the Turkish press in recent days, notably that Khashoggi's body was cut up into multiple pieces, and that there is an audio recording of the murder.

Erdogan did confirm that a Saudi official played the role of body double for Khashoggi, wearing the journalist's clothes upon leaving the consulate to pretend to be the dead man.

The whereabouts of Khashoggi's corpse remain unknown. Turkish police were searching an abandoned car belonging to the Saudi consulate in an underground car park in the Sultangazi district of Istanbul.

Jana Jabbour, a professor at Sciences Po university in Paris, said the fact Erdogan did not opt for sharper rhetoric against Riyadh suggested the two nations were talking behind the scenes.

"Erdogan's very moderate speech shows that a deal has been reached," she told AFP.

The Group of Seven industrial nations said in a joint statement that the killing left "many questions unanswered." Denmark also summoned the Saudi ambassador over the case.

The murder has shone the spotlight on the Saudi crown prince, who was credited with a reform drive in the kingdom -- including giving women the right to drive -- but is now accused of having ordering Khashoggi's killing, a charge denied by Riyadh.

A key investment summit, dubbed "Davos in the desert," was overshadowed by big-name cancellations as it kicked off in Riyadh.

Dozens of executives, including from banks Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan and ride-hailing app Uber pulled out of the three-day Future Investment Initiative.

Saudi organizers sought to portray it was business as usual, announcing 12 "mega deals" worth more than $50 billion in oil, gas, infrastructure and other sectors.

But Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih acknowledged "we are going through a crisis." </s> WASHINGTON – In a remarkable shift, President Donald Trump blasted Saudi Arabia on Tuesday for its handling of the death of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi, and his administration announced the first penalties against some of those involved.

“The cover-up was the worst in the history of cover-ups," Trump told reporters at the White House.

Trump's comments marked another reversal from his initial statement that he found the Saudi government's explanation of Khashoggi's death to be credible.

Just moments after Trump spoke, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the administration had identified some of the Saudis involved in Khashoggi's death, "including those in the intelligence services, the Royal Court, the foreign ministry, and other Saudi ministries."

Pompeo said the administration would revoke their visas and was reviewing possible sanctions against those individuals. He did not name any of the alleged culprits or say how many U.S. visas would be in jeopardy.

"We’re making very clear that the United States does not tolerate this kind of ruthless action to silence Mr. Khashoggi, a journalist, through violence," Pompeo said. "Neither the president nor I am happy with this situation."

Pompeo said the administration would take additional steps once it had more information on who was involved.

"These penalties will not be the last word on this matter from the United States," he said. "We will continue to do our own fact-finding" and make sure any consequences are based on "real data."

Saudi authorities claimed last Friday that Jamal Khashoggi died during a “brawl” inside the country’s consulate in Istanbul, a sharp reversal from previous assertions by the regime that the dissident journalist had left the diplomatic facility unharmed on Oct. 2. Turkish officials have said Khashoggi was brutally murdered inside the consulate in a pre-meditated operation.

Khashoggi went into the consulate for some routine paperwork. He was living in the U.S. self-imposed exile amid fears for his safety after he became increasingly critical of the Saudi government.

In an unusual move, CIA Director Gina Haspel was dispatched to Turkey earlier this week amid that country's ongoing investigation into Khashoggi's death. The CIA declined to comment on Haspel's trip, and neither Pompeo nor Trump addressed her role in the case.

But Trump said Tuesday he would be meeting Wednesday with U.S. officials returning from overseas with more information.

In previous comments on Khasoggi's death, Trump and Pompeo both touted the long-standing U.S. alliance with Saudi Arabia, seeming to cast their remarks about the U.S. resident and Washington Post columnist in terms that would not alienate the Saudi ruling family.

Tuesday's change in tone came on the heels of a blistering speech by Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who said his government had amassed evidence that clearly showed The Washington Post columnist was killed in a premeditated and "savage" murder that involved at least three separate teams of Saudi intelligence agents, including a military general.

Erdogan was speaking to parliament as part of his pledge to unveil the "naked truth" about a case that has shocked the world and raised suspicions that a Saudi hit squad planned Khashoggi’s killing after he walked into the consulate on Oct. 2, and then attempted to cover it up.

While Trump said he was concerned about Erdogan's comments, he said he still wants all the facts before making a final decision on whether and how to punish the Saudis. He also said he would work with Congress on any response.

“In terms of what we ultimately do … I’m going to leave it up to Congress,” Trump said, adding he hopes a decision will be bipartisan.

“They had a very bad original concept, it was carried out poorly and the cover-up was the worst in the history of cover-ups,” he said. “They had the worst cover-up ever.”

As for the apparent plan to murder Khashoggi, Trump said: "Whoever thought of that idea I think is in big trouble and they should be in big trouble." </s> U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo landed Tuesday in Saudi Arabia to meet with King Salman over the disappearance of Saudi writer Jamal Khashoggi, who is believed to be dead.

Pompeo landed in Riyadh and was to speak Salman over the crisis surrounding Khashoggi and his alleged slaying. Pompeo was greeted by Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir.

Khashoggi vanished two weeks ago during a visit to the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul. Pompeo is set to also visit the place where Khashoggi was last seen.

"The effort behind the scenes is focused on avoiding a diplomatic crisis between the two countries and has succeeded in finding a pathway to de-escalate tensions," said Ayham Kamel, the head of the Eurasia Group's Mideast and North African practice. "Riyadh will have to provide some explanation of the journalist's disappearance, but in a manner that distances the leadership from any claim that a decision was made at senior levels to assassinate the prominent journalist."

Turkish officials said they fear Khashoggi was killed and dismembered inside the consulate. Saudis have called the allegations “baseless.”

Media reports indicate that the Kingdom may acknowledge the writer was killed in the consulate.

Meanwhile, Turkish investigators were allowed to search the consulate on Monday, according to The Washington Post. But hours before the Turkish forensic team arrived, journalists photographed a cleaning crew entering the consulate, the paper reported.

The crew hauled buckets, mops and what appeared to be bottles of cleaning solution, The Post reported. Turkish investigators said they “smelled chemicals had been used,” two officials in contact with the investigators said, according to the paper.

“They are trying to make fun of us and our willingness to cooperate,” one of the officials said.

Forensics tests like spraying luminol, a chemical mixture, can expose blood left behind, said Mechthild Prinz, an associate professor at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice who previously worked at the New York City's Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.

"It depends on how well they cleaned it up," Prinz told the AP. "Obviously, you don't want anybody to have a chance to clean it up, but very often people do miss blood."

President Donald Trump, after speaking with King Salman, had dispatched Pompeo on Monday to speak to the monarch of the world's top oil exporter over Khashoggi's disappearance.

“I am immediately sending our Secretary of State to meet with King!” Trump tweeted Monday.

Khashoggi had written critically about Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, son of King Salman, for The Washington Post. The prince is next in the line to the throne, and his rise to power prompted the writer’s self-imposed exile in the U.S.

Khashoggi has criticized Saudi Arabia’s war in Yemen, its recent diplomatic spat with Canada and its arrest of women's rights activists after the lifting of a driving ban for women—policies seen as initiatives of the crown prince.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announces that the United States will revoke visas of Saudi Arabia officials behind the killing of Khashoggi.