Trump reproaches Saudi | Ghana News Agency (GNA)

WASHINGTON, Oct. 24 (Xinhua) – U.S. President
Donald Trump on Tuesday denounced Saudi handling of the death of journalist
Jamal Khashoggi, calling it the “worst cover-up ever”, as Washington
was revoking visas of Saudi officials involved in the case.

Trump told reporters at the White House that
the incident was poorly managed by the Saudi authorities.

“Somebody really messed up. And they had
the worst cover-up ever,” he said. 

Later in the day, Trump described the killing
and the following cover-up as “a total fiasco.” 

Speaking to reporters, Trump also revealed
that he will be fully informed by the U.S. intelligence personnel who were on
their way back after investigations in Turkey and Saudi Arabia. 

Also on Tuesday, U.S. Vice President Mike
Pence said in an interview with The Washington Post, which Khashoggi used to
work for, that the United States will continue to dig up the truth about the
death of the 59-year-old journalist. 

“Our administration is determined to use
all means at our disposal to get to the bottom of it,” Pence said.

When asked by reporters to comment on Turkish
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s speech about the case, Pence said it
“flies in the face of earlier assertions that have been made by the Saudi
regime.”  

Erdogan said earlier on Tuesday that
Khashoggi’s murder was planned days in advance. 

Later in the day, U.S. Secretary of State Mike
Pompeo announced that the United States is revoking visas of Saudi officials
who were suspected of involvement in the death of Khashoggi. 

It was the first concrete step of punishment
taken by the Trump administration after the disclosure of Khashoggi’s death in
Saudi consulate in Turkey’s Istanbul. 

The State Department later told media that 21
Saudis are under visa penalties. 

Khashoggi, journalist and columnist for The
Washington Post, has been missing since he entered the Saudi consulate in
Istanbul on October 02.

A joint Turkish-Saudi team completed an
investigation into the case on Thursday after searching the residence of the
consul general as well as the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.

GNA

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