Pompeo Told Crown Prince His Fate As King Rests On Handling Of Disappearance

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo shakes hand with a Saudi official before leaving Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on October 17, 2018. - US President Donald Trump pushed back Tuesday, October 16, 2018, at global condemnatio... U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo shakes hand with a Saudi official before leaving Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on October 17, 2018. - US President Donald Trump pushed back Tuesday, October 16, 2018, at global condemnation of Saudi Arabia over the disappearance and suspected murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, saying the kingdom deserved to be presumed innocent. Trump sent Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to Riyadh to talk directly with Saudi Arabia's royals, and himself spoke earlier Tuesday with powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman who assured him a "full" probe was underway. (Photo by LEAH MILLIS / POOL / AFP) (Photo credit should read LEAH MILLIS/AFP/Getty Images) MORE LESS
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While Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was criticized for his warm embrace of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in front of the cameras on Wednesday, Pompeo’s message to the crown prince in private took on a more harsh tone, CNN reported.

According to a source familiar with the meeting who spoke to CNN, the discussion between the two was not friendly. Pompeo reportedly warned bin Salman that he would have to “own” what happened to Washington Post writer Jamal Khashoggi and that “every fact is going to get out.”

He also reportedly told bin Salman the investigation needed to wrap up quickly and those involved would have to be dealt with posthaste. If that doesn’t happen, Pompeo warned, “the U.S. will have to deal with this” because “the world will demand it” and President “Trump’s hand will be forced by the global pressure,” the source told CNN.

Pompeo’s private tone is the strongest stance seen taken by the Trump administration since Khashoggi disappeared and Turkish officials claimed they had evidence that the journalist was murdered by Saudi officials. Both publicly and privately, Trump has expressed concern over the situation, but hasn’t hidden his interest in maintaining a good rapport with the kingdom.

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