Fox & Friends persistently confronts Mike Pompeo on Khashoggi murder

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was grilled Wednesday morning about the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi — on Fox & Friends, of all places.

Pompeo repeatedly dodged questions about the murder of the Washington Post columnist by Saudi officials, which the CIA has reportedly concluded was ordered by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The Trump administration, however, has insisted there is no "direct evidence" tying bin Salman to the murder. Pompeo repeated that assertion on Wednesday morning while noting that Saudi Arabia is an "important ally," per Mediaite.

But host Brian Kilmeade wasn't satisfied with that explanation, telling Pompeo that the Saudis are the ones who have damaged the relationship with the U.S. and that even people like Senator Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) are convinced bin Salman was involved. "We know the prince knows, right?" Kilmeade asked. "You know that he knows." Pompeo didn't really answer, so Kilmeade followed up with, "When you looked him in the eye and he denied it, did you believe him?" Pompeo again wouldn't answer, instead saying, "The kingdom of Saudi Arabia decides who's running the country."

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Host Ainsley Earhardt challenged Pompeo again by bringing up the CIA's conclusion, to which he responded that some of that reporting is inaccurate. But when the hosts followed up to ask if he means the reporting about the CIA's conclusion is inaccurate, he wouldn't directly answer that, either. "They're still working on it," he said. Watch Fox & Friends' confrontation with Pompeo below. Brendan Morrow