Trump Weighs Action Against Saudis as Khashoggi Denials Continue

Saudi Arabia is running out of time to explain to the Trump administration what happened to journalist Jamal Khashoggi within its consulate in Turkey.

The administration increasingly regards Saudi Arabia’s denial of any involvement of Khashoggi’s disappearance as untenable, and President Donald Trump and his aides are more and more convinced that the Washington Post writer died after entering the Saudi consulate on Oct. 2 to pick up a document for his wedding, said three U.S. officials who asked not to be identified because of the sensitivity of the matter.

Despite increasing pressure from Congress, Trump is reluctant to cancel multimillion-dollar arms sales to Saudi Arabia out of concern the U.S. ally will turn to Russia or China instead. But a range of other punishments are under discussion within the administration, from downgrading diplomatic relations or sanctioning Saudi officials to following major U.S. companies in withdrawing officials from an investment conference in Riyadh later this month.

White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow warned Sunday of “stern action” by Trump if Saudi Arabia is found responsible for Khashoggi’s disappearance. “If the Saudis are involved, if Khashoggi was killed or harmed or whatever bad outcome here, he will take action. That has been his strategy. Believe what he says,” Kudlow said on “Fox News Sunday.”

Critic of Regime

The administration is holding off -- for now -- as the Turks and Saudis jointly investigate what happened to Khashoggi, a Saudi citizen and U.S. resident who wrote critically of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s regime for the Washington Post. Turkish officials have said they believe he was killed and dismembered in the consulate; the Post and New York Times have reported that a team of Saudi agents flew to Istanbul and left the same day of Khashoggi’s visit.