Report: WH Blocks CIA's Haspel From Senate Briefing on Khashoggi

The White House reportedly won’t allow CIA Director Gina Haspel, or any other intelligence official, to brief the Senate on the slaying of Saudi dissident and Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Defense Secretary James Mattis are expected to give a briefing on U.S. relations with Saudi Arabia to the entire Senate behind closed doors Wednesday — ahead of a vote that could cut off support for Riyadh’s military campaign in Yemen.

The Guardian reported that the Senate was told by the administration to expect only Pompeo and Mattis at the briefing. The White House didn’t comment to the news outlet.

Haspel travelled to Istanbul to hear audio tapes of Khashoggi’s slaiying provided by Turkish intelligence, and then briefed Trump, the Guardian noted.

Several news outlets have reported the CIA concluded Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ordered the killing in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, on Oct. 2.

President Donald Trump has asserted the CIA report is inconclusive.

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