The U.S. is taking its first steps toward punishing Saudi Arabia for the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
On Tuesday, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced that the U.S. had identified "at least some of the individuals" suspected to be "responsible" for Khashoggi's murder at Turkey's Saudi consulate on Oct. 2. That includes "those in the intelligence services, the royal court, the foreign ministry, and other Saudi ministries," Pompeo said. The U.S. will withdraw visas from those people and is weighing sanctions against them, among other potential consequences.
As Pompeo made the announcement, Trump was giving a wide-ranging press conference that tackled Khashoggi's death. The Saudi operation was "carried out poorly and the cover-up was one of the worst in the history of cover-ups," Trump said. But he maintained that he wants to "see the facts" before deciding whether to believe Turkish claims that the Saudi government pre-planned and directed the killing.
Also in their Tuesday statements, Pompeo and Trump both reiterated opposition to the migrant caravan heading north through Mexico. Pompeo declared that migrants "will not be successful at getting into the United States illegally, no matter what." The caravan is still roughly 1,000 miles from the U.S.-Mexico border.