“We estimate that Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman has approved an operation in Istanbul, Turkey, to capture or kill Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi,” the report’s summary reads.
“We base this assessment on the Crown Prince’s control over the decision – making process in the Kingdom, the direct involvement of a key adviser and members of Muhammad bin Salman’s protective details in the operation, and the Crown Prince’s support for the use of force. measures to silence dissidents abroad, including Khashoggi, ”reads the report.
The Biden government has submitted the long-awaited declassified intelligence report to Congress ahead of its public release on Friday.
The report notes Bin Salman’s “absolute control” over Saudi intelligence and security operations.
“Since 2017, the Crown Prince has had absolute control over the security and intelligence organizations of the Kingdom, making it highly unlikely that Saudi officials would have carried out an operation of this nature without the Crown Prince’s permission,” the report said.
It says that the Saudi team of 15 people who arrived in Istanbul in October 2018 when Khashoggi was assassinated included members attached to the Saudi Center for Studies and Media Affairs (CSMARC) at the Royal Court, led by a close adviser of bin Salman, as well as “seven members of Muhammad bin Salman’s elite personal protective details, known as the Rapid Intervention Force.”
On Thursday, administrative officials indicated that Biden might also consider announcing some kind of punishment for the Saudis once the report was released.
Asked if the government would consider sanctions against those responsible for Khashoggi’s assassination, State Department spokesman Ned Price said on Thursday: “I expect we will soon be in a position to talk about steps. to promote liability in the future for this heinous crime. ”
The report said that at the time of Khashoggi’s assassination, “the Crown Prince promoted an environment in which assistants feared that the failure of assigned tasks would not result in him firing or arresting them.”
Shortly after Khashoggi’s death in October 2018, the CIA judged with great confidence that the Crown Prince had personally ordered the murder.
As a candidate, Biden said Khashoggi had been killed “on the orders of the crown prince” and that the country should be treated as ‘the pariah they are’.
This story is breaking and will be updated.