Ex-CIA chief calls on Congress to declassify CIA findings on Khashoggi killing

Former CIA Director John Brennan called on lawmakers to declassify the intelligence agency’s findings in the assassination of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

“Since Mr. Trump excels in dishonesty, it is now up to members of Congress to obtain & declassify the CIA findings on Jamal Khashoggi’s death,” Brennan tweeted Tuesday.

“No one in Saudi Arabia—most especially the Crown Prince—should escape accountability for such a heinous act,” he continued.

Since Mr. Trump excels in dishonesty, it is now up to members of Congress to obtain & declassify the CIA findings on Jamal Khashoggi’s death. No one in Saudi Arabia—most especially the Crown Prince—should escape accountability for such a heinous act. https://t.co/exQrZKybhk

— John O. Brennan (@JohnBrennan) November 20, 2018

Brennan’s remarks came shortly after President Trump said the U.S. would maintain a “steadfast” alliance with Saudi Arabia, making it clear Trump does not want the killing of Khashoggi to disrupt relations between the two nations. 

The president’s defiant statement arrived on the heels of reports stating that the CIA concluded that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ordered the assassination of Khashoggi, a Washington Post columnist and U.S. resident who spoke critically of Saudi leadership.

In the statement, Trump also repeated the Saudi government’s claim that the journalist was an “enemy of the state” and “a member of the Muslim Brotherhood.”

Khashoggi was killed in October shortly after entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. The Saudi government has since acknowledged the journalist was killed by a team that met him when he arrived at the building and insists the crown prince did not know of the operation.