MEDIA/SAUDI ARABIA/SUPREME COURT/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TURKEY: “President Donald Trump Tuesday [10-16-18] criticized rapidly mounting global condemnation of Saudi Arabia over the case of missing journalist Jamal Khashoggi, warning of a rush to judgment. In an interview with The Associated Press, Trump compared the situation to the allegations of sexual assault leveled against Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh during his confirmation hearing…Trump spoke Tuesday with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Monday with King Salman. He said both deny any knowledge of what happened to Khashoggi, who entered their country’s consulate in Istanbul two weeks ago and hasn’t been seen since. In Turkey earlier Tuesday, a high-level Turkish official told the Associated Press that police investigators searching the Saudi Consulate had found evidence that Khashoggi was killed there. The president said that his own comment Monday about possible ‘rogue killers’ behind Khashoggi’s disappearance was informed by his ‘feeling’ from his conversation with Salman, and that the King did not use the term.”
–The Associated Press, “Trump blasts rush to condemn Saudi Arabia,” Politico, October 15, 2018 6:26 pm