'Blindingly obvious' that MBS ordered Khashoggi killing

By Gamze Turkoglu Oguz

ANKARA (AA) - A U.S. State Department official said Tuesday that it is “blindingly obvious” that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ordered the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, according to ABC News.

"The idea that it goes all the way to the top is blindingly obvious," the official -- who spoke on condition of anonymity -- was quoted by ABC News as saying.

Khashoggi, a columnist for The Washington Post, went missing after entering the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2.

Saudi Arabia had offered shifting explanations for Khashoggi's disappearance before suggesting he was killed during a botched operation by rogue agents.

His body has yet to be returned to his family amid reports that it was chemically dissolved.

"There's overwhelming consensus that the leadership is involved -- no one is debating it within the government," said the official, who saw a version of a CIA report on the issue.

On Nov. 17, The Washington Post also reported that the CIA concluded that the killing was ordered by the Saudi crown prince.

"The CIA’s assessment, in which officials have said they have high confidence, is the most definitive to date linking Mohammed [bin Salman] to the operation and complicates the Trump administration's efforts to preserve its relationship with a close ally," the Post wrote.

U.S. President Donald Trump said on the issue that he had not been briefed on the CIA’s conclusions, but that he would speak with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and the CIA officials about the issue.