WASHINGTON: US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo defended the Trump administration’s handling of the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi on Wednesday, stressing Saudi Arabia’s importance as a US ally. CIA Director Gina Haspel was due to brief leaders of the House of Representatives behind closed doors on Wednesday about the killing. The killing of Khashoggi sent shockwaves around the world and has drawn outrage from lawmakers in the U.S. Congress, including President Donald Trump’s fellow Republicans. Pompeo pointed to the sanctions and said the United States would continue to hold accountable those proven to have been involved in the killing of Khashoggi, a U.S. resident and Washington Post columnist. They’ve been a very good ally,” Trump told Reuters on Tuesday in an Oval Office interview.

Source: Pakistan Today December 12, 2018 15:11 UTC