US Khashoggi Probe Reflects Trump Pattern Valuing Personal Instincts Over CIA - Report

President Donald Trump has partially muted a US report due later Tuesday on journalist Jamal Khashoggi's murder by Saudi operatives in casting doubt on Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's involvement as opposed to an earlier CIA assessment, the Soufan Center concluded in a report on Tuesday.

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 20th November, 2018) President Donald Trump has partially muted a US report due later Tuesday on journalist Jamal Khashoggi's murder by Saudi operatives in casting doubt on Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's involvement as opposed to an earlier CIA assessment, the Soufan Center concluded in a report on Tuesday.

"The President stated the government would release its official conclusion today, November 20, and then pre-empted the release by immediately minimizing it," the report said. "This continues a pattern of the President casting doubt on the assessments of the government he leads, specifically assessments that conflict with his personal opinions and 'instincts.

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Last week, a CIA leak to several news outlets revealed a "high confidence" intelligence assessment that the October 2 murder of Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul had been ordered by bin Salman.

Trump cast doubt on the CIA conclusion with a rhetorical question in a subsequent Fox News interview: "Will anyone ever really know," the report noted.

Trump also cited the importance of a US-Saudi alliance, foreshadowing the strong possibility that the United States will avoid meaningful action against the Saudis, reflecting a frequent pattern for a president who trusts his own instincts over official intelligence assessments, according to the report.