President Trump downplayed the need for the FBI to launch an investigation into the death of Jamal Khashoggi after a United Nations’ report blamed Saudi Arabia for killing the journalist last year in Turkey.
”I think it’s been heavily investigated,” Trump told NBC’s “Meet the Press” in an interview that aired Sunday.
Asked by host Chuck Todd who has already looked into Khashoggi’s death at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Trump said “everybody” and added that he’s seen “many different reports.”
“Here’s where I am, you ready? Iran’s killed many, many people a day. Other countries in the Middle East, this is a hostile place. This is a vicious, hostile place. If you’re going to look at Saudi Arabia, look at Iran, look at other countries,” Trump said.
The president went on to repeat his previous argument that Saudi Arabia is a good customer for American arms, pointing to an agreement the the kingdom signed in 2017 to purchase more than $400 billion in weapons over 10 years.
Todd asked if he was willing to overlook Saudi’s behavior as long as they kept their wallet open.
”But I’m not like a fool that says, ’We don’t want to do business with them.’ And by the way, if they don’t do business with us, you know what they do? They’ll do business with the Russians or with the Chinese,” Trump said. “We make the best equipment in the world, but they will buy great equipment from Russia and from China.”
The Senate voted last week to block an $8 billion arms deal with Saudi Arabia last week, but not with a veto-proof majority.
The bipartisan vote came after a United Nations report accused Saudi Arabia of killing Khashoggi and taking steps to cover up the Washington Post writer’s dismemberment in the consulate on Oct. 2.
The report also implicated Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
It recommended the FBI begin an investigation and pursue a criminal prosecution in the US.