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Saudis to Acknowledge Columnist Khashoggi’s Death – Report

© AP Photo / Virginia MayoSaudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi speaks on his cellphone at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Khashoggi was a Saudi insider. He rubbed shoulders with the Saudi royal family and supported its efforts to nudge the entrenched ultraconservative clerics to accept reforms. He was a close aide to the kingdom’s former spy chief and was a leading voice in the country’s prominent dailies
Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi speaks on his cellphone at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Khashoggi was a Saudi insider. He rubbed shoulders with the Saudi royal family and supported its efforts to nudge the entrenched ultraconservative clerics to accept reforms. He was a close aide to the kingdom’s former spy chief and was a leading voice in the country’s prominent dailies - Sputnik International
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The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is reportedly going to produce a report admitting that not only was a Washington Post columnist killed at its consulate building in Istanbul, but also that the murder was the result of an interrogation gone awry.

CNN's Jake Tapper reports that Jamal Khashoggi's death will be confessed to by Riyadh — a move that would mark a stunning reversal following King Salman's denial that the writer was killed under the watch of Saudi Arabian officials. Tapper cited two anonymous sources, qualifying his announcement by stating the Saudis' report "is still being prepared" and adding that a source "cautioned things could change."

People hold signs during a protest at the Embassy of Saudi Arabia about the disappearance of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, Wednesday, Oct. 10, 2018, in Washington. - Sputnik International
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US Lawmakers Dismiss Trump’s ‘Rogue Killers’ Theory of Khashoggi’s Disappearance

"Report will likely conclude that the operation was carried out without clearance and transparency and that those involved will be held responsible," Tapper reports.

An anonymous Turkish official told the New York Times last week that the alleged slaughter was carried out by 15 Saudi operatives flown in to Turkey, and that Khashoggi's body was disposed of with the aid of a doctor toting a bonesaw. Khashoggi's body was reportedly dismembered and smuggled out of the consulate building. These reports have yet to be confirmed publicly by Turkish officials.

Earlier on Monday, US President Donald Trump spoke with Saudi King Salman on the phone. During the call, Salman was "very, very strong" in his denial of knowledge about what happened to Khashoggi, Trump told reporters. The US head of state then floated the idea that the writer was slaughtered by "rogue killers" — a statement that was immediately called out as an alternative theory meant to help Saudi Arabia defend its reputation. ​"Absolutely extraordinary they were able to enlist the President of the United States as their PR agent," Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) said Monday. 

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