Trump says full report over Khashoggi's death to come in two days

WASHINGTON - US President Donald Trump on Saturday said the US full report over the death of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi will come over the next two days.

On a trip to California, Trump told the media that he had talked with the head of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), Gina Haspel, over the killing of Khashoggi.

Referring to the incident as "a horrible thing" and "a very, very bad situation," Trump said "we'll be having a very full report over the next two days, probably Monday or Tuesday."

The CIA has concluded that the Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman had ordered to kill Khashoggi, US media quoted insiders on Friday as saying.

However, Trump said the CIA has not "assessed anything yet."

"It's too early. That was a very premature report. But that's possible -- we're going to see," he said. "But we're going to have a report on Tuesday. And it'll be very complete."

"We're going to come up with a report as to what we think the overall impact was and who caused it, and who did it," he said.

On Friday, Trump said "we also have a great ally in Saudi Arabia. They give us a lot of jobs and a lot of business and economic development. They have been a truly spectacular ally in terms of jobs and economic development."

Also on Friday, the State Department said the United States has not made a final conclusion on the death of Khashoggi.

In a statement, spokesperson Heather Nauert said "recent reports indicating that the US government has made a final conclusion is inaccurate," and that "there remain numerous unanswered questions with respect to the murder."

However, Nauert noted that the US side will "maintain strategic relationship" with Saudi Arabia.

Khashoggi, a columnist for The Washington Post, has been missing since he entered the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2. The Saudi authorities said that Khashoggi died in a "brawl" in its consulate.

After releasing the results of its initial investigations, the Saudi Public Prosecution announced that 18 people were arrested over their alleged connections with the killing.

The US Congress has urged a thorough investigation in the murder of Khashoggi, and threatened to take more actions against Saudi Arabia if those responsible were not held accountable, such as suspending the US military sales to Saudi Arabia and sanctioning the kingdom.

On Thursday, the Treasury Department imposed sanctions on 17 individuals over their alleged roles in the killing of Khashoggi.