White House Blocks CIA Director From Briefing Senate on Khashoggi Murder

President Donald Trump‘s White House will prevent CIA director Gina Haspel or any other intelligence official from briefing the Senate on conclusions reached by the U.S. government regarding the murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi, according to a new report by The Guardian.

Khashoggi disappeared and was brutally murdered nearly two months ago after entering the Saudi Arabian consulate in Istanbul, Turkey.

Senators expected to hear on Wednesday from Haspel, who traveled to Istanbul during the investigation, reportedly heard audio tapes of Khashoggi’s murder and briefed Trump upon her return one month ago.

Instead, they will be briefed by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Defense Secretary James Mattis.

“On a national security issue of such importance, it would be customary for a senior intelligence official to take part,” Guardian reporter Julian Borger wrote. “Officials made it clear that the decision for Haspel not to appear in front of the committee came from the White House.”

A Senate staffer told Borger, “there is always an intel person there for a briefing like this” and that “it is totally unprecedented and should be interpreted as nothing less than the Trump administration trying to silence the intelligence community.”

The CIA has reportedly concluded with high level of confidence that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ordered the murder of the dissident journalist.

President Trump, however, has been increasingly reluctant to accept the verdict of his own intelligence community.

“They didn’t conclude,” Trump insisted last week during a pool spray at Mar-a-Lago. “No no, they didn’t conclude. I’m sorry. No they didn’t conclude. They did not come to a conclusion. They have feelings certain ways… I don’t know if anyone’s going to be able to conclude the crown prince did it.”

[Mediaite]