White House Press Secretary Craine Jean-Pierre said Thursday that President Biden, who is visiting Saudi Arabia next month, believes the country’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ordered the 2018 operation, which includes Washington. Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi was killed.
Biden will travel to Saudi Arabia in mid-July as he seeks to melt US-Saudi relations amid high gas prices. He has agreed to meet MBS on the trip, despite earlier attempts to sideline Bin Salman.
This week, Khashoggi’s fiance asked Biden to cancel the meeting, saying “you are insulting yourself” and “putting oil on principles.”
Jean-Pierre was repeatedly pressured into the matter during a regular briefing by Washington Post reporter Matt Weisser on Thursday, citing a report by the US intelligence community that suggested that Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler had carried out the operation. Had ordered
“We estimate that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ordered the operation to arrest and assassinate,” the report’s executive summary said. [Khashoggi]The show has seemed a bit unfocused in recent episodes.
“And he released the report, right?” Jean-Pierre said, first of all, whether Biden agrees with this finding.
“But does he agree with that assessment?” Viser pressed.
“I’m telling you, this is something that the president takes very seriously. And he released that report, so obviously he will not release this report if it is not something that he has. Believe it or not, “said Jane Pierre.
The press secretary also had a controversial discussion on Thursday when he was pressured by journalists whether the White House would continue its history when Biden had a negative test for COVID-19.
Biden, 79, has never had a positive test for the corona virus, “he said.”
“We will be transparent about that,” he told Wieser after other inquiries from reporters in the first- and second-line briefing rooms.
Jane Pierre said Biden is tested weekly for the virus unless it is considered “close contact” with an infected person, as stated in the CDC guidelines. He said he had not been in close contact with anyone known to have the virus.
The corona virus continues to spread inside Biden’s inner circle, which made Transport Secretary Pat Buttig ill last week, and his chief medical adviser, Dr. Anthony Fookie, tested positive on Wednesday.
“The president has regular testing cadence as determined by his doctor. As we have said many times, if it was a close contact described by the CDC, because we follow it, We will update its testing cadence accordingly and share it with you all, “he said.
But NBC’s Peter Alexander pressured Jane Pierre to question whether the president’s negative public notice was becoming rare.
“I’m just confused because in the past people always told us recent test dates. So why can’t you tell us?” “Why has this changed? Because he always told us in the past,” Alexander told the press secretary.
Jean-Pierre finally said, “It is tested once a week. I do not have a date at the moment.” ۔
