Donald Trump Contacts Saudi Arabian Officials About Missing Journalist

TOPSHOT - Protestors hold pictures of missing journalist Jamal Khashoggi during a demonstr
OZAN KOSE/AFP/Getty Images

President Donald Trump confirmed Wednesday that he spoke with the leaders of Saudi Arabia after a journalist mysteriously disappeared last week.

Asked by reporters if he had spoken to the Saudis, Trump replied, “I’d rather not say, but the answer is yes.”

Turkish intelligence sources claim that a team of 15 people from Saudi Arabia was sent to capture or kill journalist Jamal Khashoggi, a critic of the Saudi regime and a columnist for the Washington Post.

The Washington Post reported on Wednesday that the United States intercepted communications about a plot to capture Khashoggi,

Trump said that he spoke to a top-level official from Saudi Arabia about the missing journalist, who was last seen entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.

“It’s a very sad situation, it’s a very bad situation,” Trump said. “We cannot let this happen, to reporters, to anybody.”

Trump said that he and Melania Trump had received a letter from Khashoggi’s fiance and had reached out to contact her. He also said that she might visit the White House in the future.

“It’s a very serious situation for us and this White House … I think we’ll get to the bottom of it.”

When asked if he believed that Khashoggi was dead, he replied, “I don’t want to say that, I hope he’s not,” he said.

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