[ZERO] On Friday afternoon, over two years after the Oct.2018 brutal murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence has finally released its official report to the public on his killing, which is based mostly on the prior CIA investigation.As was fully expected, it goes straight to the top: "We assess that Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman approved an operation in Istanbul, Turkey to capture or kill Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi," the four-page, only very slightly redacted report reads.
"We assess that Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman approved an operation in Istanbul, Turkey to capture or kill Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi. We base this assessment on the Crown Prince's control of decision making in the Kingdom since 2017, the direct involvement of a key adviser and members of Muhammad bin Salman's protective detail in the operation, and the Crown Prince's support for using violent measures to silence dissidents abroad, including Khashoggi."
Further the US intelligence report points to the entirety of the security detail that carried out the assassination as closely associated with the Royal Court. But more notably at least seven were among MbS "elite" personal security detail, putting them in direct communication with the crown prince and de facto ruler of the kingdom.
The intel report details:
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