White House misses deadline to report on Khashoggi

NEW YORK, Feb 09 (Al Jazeera): US President Donald Trump declined to meet a Friday deadline to report to the Senate on whether the White House believes Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, also known as MBS, ordered the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

A senior administration official told US media that the president maintains his discretion to decline to act on congressional committee requests.

Khashoggi, who was a Washington Post columnist known for his critical writing on the Saudi government, was killed on October 02, 2018, after entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. His body was dismembered and has not yet been found.

Initially, Saudi Arabia, a US ally, denied any involvement in the killing. But following a series of contradictory statements, the kingdom admitted that a team of Saudi agents killed the writer inside the consulate.