CIA report on Khashoggi killing not 'definitive:' Trump

US President Donald Trump said a CIA report into the killing by Saudi agents of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi found "nothing definitive."

"The CIA looked at it," he told journalists at the White House. "They have nothing definitive."

Khashoggi was murdered at the kingdom's consulate in Istanbul on 2 October, with US and Turkish intelligence believing Prince Mohammed ordered the killing.

The CIA concluded last week that the crown prince was behind the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, US media reported.

The US assessment directly contradicted the conclusions of a Saudi prosecutor one day prior, which exonerated the prince of involvement in the brutal murder.

It was the most definitive US assessment to date tying the controversial crown prince to the killing.

Earlier on Tuesday, Trump said that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman could have had "knowledge" of Jamal Khashoggi's murder - the closest the American leader has come yet to blaming the powerful royal for the journalist's killing.

But he pledged that last month's brutal killing of the journalist by Saudi operatives would not derail the US-Saudi relationship, Trump said, even if Prince Mohammed bin Salman were found to bear responsibility.

"It could very well be that the Crown Prince had knowledge of this tragic event - maybe he did and maybe he didn't!" Trump said in a statement.

"We may never know all of the facts surrounding the murder of Mr Jamal Khashoggi. In any case, our relationship is with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia," he said. 

"The United States intends to remain a steadfast partner of Saudi Arabia."

Earlier, a US official has said it is "blindingly obvious" that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ordered the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, in the latest development implicating the powerful royal.

"The idea that it goes all the way to the top is blindingly obvious," the source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, was quoted as saying in comments to ABC News.
 
Saudi Arabia's foreign minister said on Tuesday that claims by the CIA that Prince Mohammed ordered the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi were false.

Khashoggi, a Saudi journalist living in exile in the US, was killed inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on 2 October.

After persistent denials and numerous contradictory explanations, Riyadh finally admitted Khashoggi was killed in the consulate and his body was dismembered.

The US has sanctioned 17 Saudis for the crime, including close aides of Mohammed bin Salman, and is set to make final conclusions this week over the killing.

In a sign of further international pressure, Germany on Monday said it will bar 18 Saudis from entering its territory and Europe's Schengen passport-free zone over their alleged links to the murder.

European Union foreign affairs chief Federica Mogherini has reiterated calls for a "thorough, credible and transparent" probe into Khashoggi's killing.

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