Turkish security forces surround Saudi Arabian consulate in Istanbul

[Swordsmyth]

Guy Elster
BREAKING Senators are sure that MBS ordered Khashoggi killing after CIA briefing

Ragıp Soylu
US senators on Khashoggi;

• Graham: There is a smoking saw proving MBS’s involvement
• Corker: If MBS went in front of a jury, would be convicted in 30 minutes
• Menendez: More convinced now that Congress must act
• Shelby: The question is how to seperate MBS from S.Arabia

I'd be more comfortable believing it if Rand or Lee said so.

[Swordsmyth]

I'd be more comfortable believing it if Rand or Lee said so.

‘Deep State at Work': Rand Paul Demands All Lawmakers Receive CIA Briefing on Khashoggi

[goldenequity]

Ali Özkök
Turkey: Istanbul chief prosecutor's office files arrest warrants for Saudi official Ahmed Asiri.
He is adviser to Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman and the former deputy head of the Al-Mukhabarat Al-A'amah and the former spokesman for the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen.

[Swordsmyth]

Saudi Arabia's foreign minister on Sunday ruled out the extradition of suspects in the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, after Istanbul's chief prosecutor filed warrants for the arrest of two former senior Saudi officials.

"We don't extradite our citizens," Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said when asked about the arrest warrants. He was speaking at a news conference at a Gulf Arab summit in Riyadh.

More at: https://news.yahoo.com/saudi-arabia-...173425622.html

[goldenequity]

CNN
December 10, 2018
'I can't breathe.' Jamal Khashoggi's last words disclosed in transcript, source says
https://edition.cnn.com/2018/12/09/m...ntl/index.html

[Swordsmyth]

CNN
December 10, 2018
'I can't breathe.' Jamal Khashoggi's last words disclosed in transcript, source says
https://edition.cnn.com/2018/12/09/m...ntl/index.html

The same rumors with no proof that the Turks have been spreading, I remain distrustful of both sides and I become more uninterested with every passing day that no proof is released.

Yemen remains the best of the real reasons that we should cut loose from the Saudis and the Turks are little better.

[Swordsmyth]

Saudi Arabia has announced the creation of three new government departments to improve the kingdom's intelligence operations following the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in October, Reuters reported Dec. 20.

More at: https://worldview.stratfor.com/situa...ce-departments

[Swordsmyth]

Saudi Arabia's King Salman has appointed a new foreign minister as part of a major cabinet reshuffle, according to Saudi state media.

A royal decree named Ibrahim al-Assaf as new foreign minister, demoting outgoing chief diplomat Adel al-Jubeir to the position of minister of state for foreign affairs.


Marwan Kabalan, head of policy analysis at the Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies, said the move did not come as a surprise given that al-Jubeir was seen as a "leftover from the [late] King Abdulla era".

"We've been expecting al-Jubeir to be out for some time. Even before the Khashoggi affair," Kabalan said in reference to the murder of Khashoggi on October 2.
"But I now think he's been used as another scapegoat in this issue."


"I think he is out now - perhaps at the right time for Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. As I said, the crown prince wanted to use somebody as a scapegoat and also hold him responsible," Kabalan added.
"Because the Saudi consul general in Istanbul was very much involved in the killing of Khashoggi and that would fall under al-Jubeir."
A former finance minister, al-Assaf was among dozens of royal family members, government officials, and top businessmen detained during an "anti-corruption purge" in November 2017.
Other notable changes include the appointment of Prince Abdullah bin Bandar bin Abdulaziz as chief of the National Guard, replacing Prince Miteb bin Abdullah.

General Khalid bin Qirar al-Harbi was also named general security chief, while Musaed al-Aiban was appointed national security adviser.

More at: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/...135717339.html

[Swordsmyth]

A new report asserts that Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi, who was killed inside the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul on October 2, may have been a foreign agent working for the government of Qatar in order to change U.S. policy against Saudi Arabia and in favor of the Muslim Brotherhood.
Writing in The Federalist, Jim Hanson, president of Security Studies Group and a former member of U.S. Special Forces, notes that the Post admitted in an article on December 21 that an executive at Qatar Foundation International worked with Khashoggi to influence Khashoggi’s columns so they aggressively targeted the Saudi government. The Post wrote, “Text messages between Khashoggi and an executive at Qatar Foundation International show that the executive, Maggie Mitchell Salem, at times shaped the columns he submitted to The Washington Post, proposing topics, drafting material and prodding him to take a harder line against the Saudi government.” Hanson notes, “The Qatar Foundation denies they were paying him to produce the anti-Saudi material.”

But then Hanson ups the ante considerably as to Khashoggi’s possible status as a foreign agent, writing:

But during Security Studies Group research for our report on the information operation after his death, we heard from reliable sources familiar with the investigation that documents showing wire transfers from Qatar were found in his apartment in Turkey. They were immediately put out of reach by Turkish security services, so they did not show the collusion between Khashoggi, Qatar, and Turkey prior to his death. We have published a new, unredacted set of findings about the case. It is damning to Qatar, Turkey, and the Washington Post. Khashoggi may have been operating in violation of the Foreign Agents Registration Act by doing this on behalf of Qatar.

Hanson points out Qatar supports the Muslim Brotherhood, which is regarded as a terrorist organization by many Gulf nations; members of Congress have pushed for naming the group a terrorist organization.
Hanson adds that Turkey and Qatar drove the narrative after the killing of Khashoggi and fed their chosen information to “major Western English-language journalist outlets.”

More at: https://www.dailywire.com/news/39725...i-hank-berrien

[Swordsmyth]

Saudi prosecutors sought the death penalty for five of 11 defendants charged with the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, as their high-profile trial opened in Riyadh on Thursday.The prosecution also said it was awaiting a response to two formal letters requesting evidence from Turkey, where Khashoggi was murdered inside the kingdom's Istanbul consulate on October 2 in a case that shocked the world.
All 11 accused were present with their lawyers at the first session of the trial, it said in a statement carried by the official Saudi Press Agency, without revealing their names or their alleged roles in the crime.
"The public prosecutor... is seeking capital punishment for five of the defendants for their direct involvement in the murder," the statement said.
Five top Saudi officials -- including royal court insider Saud al-Qahtani -- have been sacked over Khashoggi's murder, but authorities have not said if they were among those charged.


Thursday's session was attended by the kingdom's Human Rights Commission, SPA said, but like other Saudi trials it was closed to the public and media.
The United Nations and human rights groups have called for an independent investigation into Khashoggi's killing.
"Given the possible involvement of Saudi authorities in Khashoggi's murder and the lack of independence of Saudi Arabia's criminal justice system, the impartiality of any investigation and trial would be in question," Samah Hadid, a Middle East director at Amnesty International, told AFP on Thursday.
"This is why a UN-led and independent investigation is needed into the murder."
The defence team on Thursday requested a copy of the charge sheet and a timeframe within which to review the charges. The prosecution agreed to both requests while its investigation continues, SPA said.
No date has been set for the next hearing and it was unclear how long the trial would last.


It was unclear whether Qahtani and Ahmad al-Assiri, two senior aides to Prince Mohammed initially implicated in Khashoggi's murder, were among those on trial.
Saudi officials said in November that Qahtani -- who has not spoken publicly since then -- was banned from travel pending the investigation but authorities have refused to disclose his whereabouts.
"It is clear that elements from high levels of the Saudi state were involved in Khashoggi's murder," H.A. Hellyer, senior associate fellow at the Royal United Services Institute, told AFP.
"There is an immense amount of international interest in this trial, but also a lot of suspicion about whether those ultimately responsible for the crime will be held to account."
There was no immediate reaction to Thursday's trial from Ankara, which has sought the extradition of the suspects in Saudi custody to stand trial in Turkey.
But Riyadh has repeatedly rebuffed its requests.

More at: https://news.yahoo.com/saudi-prosecu...114937846.html

[Swordsmyth]

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm............................



https://twitter.com/AbdullaAlmazied/...77782409728000