Saudi Arabia's upcoming investment conference is continuing to fall apart.
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin announced Thursday that he will no longer be attending the Future Investment Initiative conference in Saudi Arabia as originally planned.
In recent days, a number of key companies and government officials have also pulled out of the event in reaction to concerns that Saudi Arabia's government murdered Jamal Khashoggi, a columnist for The Washington Post who went missing earlier this month. Saudi Arabia has denied any involvement, but Turkey says it has evidence that a top Saudi diplomat was in the room while Khashoggi was tortured and beheaded at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.
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As recently as Monday, Mnuchin still planned to attend the conference, which was scheduled as a stop on his trip focused on fighting terrorist financing in the Middle East, The New York Times reports. But now, Mnuchin has changed his tune. The treasury secretary provided no further details about what went into his decision, but he said it came after he met with both President Trump and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
Pompeo, who met with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to discuss Khashoggi's disappearance, said that he and Trump will give Saudi Arabia "a few more days" to complete an investigation into the matter, which the kingdom has assured will be "complete" and "thorough." Pompeo also emphasized that Saudi Arabia remains an "important counter-terrorism partner."
