TAKE THAT MONEY AND SPEND IT IN RUSSIA OR CHINA, OR SOME PLACE
ELSE.
ELSE. >> I’M JOINED NOW BY NBC NEWS
CHIEF FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT
RICHARD ENGEL WHO IS IN
ISTANBUL.
ISTANBUL. RICHARD, THANKS FOR BEING HERE.
I’M HOPING THAT YOU CAN WALK US
THROUGH, TO START WITH, WHY WASI
WAS THAT THE SAUDI GOVERNMENT
WAS SO FOCUSED ON KHASHOGGI.
WE HAVE A SAMPLE OF SOME OF HIS
"WASHINGTON POST" COLUMNS.
SAUDI ARABIA WAS NOT ALWAYS THIS
REPRESENTATIVE.
REPRESENTATIVE. NOW IT IS UNBEARABLE.
SAUDI ARABIA’S CROWN PRINCE
WANTS TO CRUSH EXTREMISTS BUT HE
IS PUNISHING THE WRONG PEOPLE.
SAUDI ARABIA’S CROWN PRINCE IS
ACTING LIKE PUTIN.
THESE ARE IN SOME WAYS VERY
PERSONAL CRITICISMS.
PERSONAL CRITICISMS. CAN YOU KIND OF GIVE US SOME
BACKGROUND ABOUT HOW THE CROWN
PRINCE INTERACTED WITH MR.
KHASHOGGI?
KHASHOGGI? >> Reporter: WELL, IT IS HARD TO
KNOW EXACTLY WHAT MAY HAVE
MOTIVATED THE SAUDI CROWN PRINCE
AND WHY HE, ACCORDING TO TURKISH
AUTHORITIES, WOULD HAVE
ORGANIZED AND ORDERED THIS
ASSASSINATION.
ASSASSINATION. SAUDI ARABIA OF COURSE DENIES
THAT IT DID ANY SUCH THING.
BUT IT SEEMS LIKE A MASSIVE
OVERREACTION.
OVERREACTION. AND SOMETHING THAT HAS TOTALLY
BACK-FIRED ON SAUDI ARABIA.
EXPERTS WE HAVE SPOKEN TO ARE
ASKING THEMSELVES, AND MANY
PEOPLE IN THIS REGION ARE ASKING
THEMSELVES TONIGHT, WHAT WAS HE
THINKING?
THINKING? THIS SEEMS TO HAVE BEEN A VERY
EMOTIONAL OPERATION.
EMOTIONAL OPERATION. AN OPERATION THAT WAS LAUNCHED
WITH NOT MUCH THOUGHT ABOUT THE
POTENTIAL CONSEQUENCES.
POTENTIAL CONSEQUENCES. WHAT KIND OF PERSON ORDERS AN
ASSASSINATION INSIDE A
DIPLOMATIC BUILDING THAT WILL
BEAT A TRAIL RIGHT TO THE
GOVERNMENT THAT OWNS THAT
BUILDING?
BUILDING? MANY JOURNALISTS HAVE BEEN
KILLED BY AUTHORITARIAN
GOVERNMENTS AROUND THE WORLD.
USUALLY THEY TRY TO COVER THEIR
TRACKS A LITTLE BIT USING A
POISON, OR HAVING A CAR BOMB, OR
AT LEAST SOMETHING THAT GIVES A
PLAUSIBLE DENIABILITY, NOT DOING
IT INSIDE A DIPLOMATIC BUILDING,
WITH A HIT SQUAD ARRIVING INTO
THE COUNTRY, AND THEN LEAVING ON
CHARTERED PLANES.
CHARTERED PLANES. SO IT IS VERY LARD TO KNOW WHAT
WOULD HAVE MOAT -- HARD TO KNOW
WHAT WOULD HAVE MOTIVATED THE
SAUDI CROWN PRINCE OR ANYBODY
ELSE TO ORDER THIS KIND OF
OPERATION THAT HAS BACKFIRED SO
BADLY ON THE SAUDI GOVERNMENT.
BECAUSE YES, KHASHOGGI WAS A
CRITIC OF SAUDI ARABIA, BUT
THERE ARE MANY CRITICS OF THE
CROWN PRINCE.
CROWN PRINCE. >> ABSOLUTELY.
>> ABSOLUTELY. AND THAT IS AN INTERESTING
POINT.
POINT. I THINK THE QUESTION FOR US NOW,
HERE, IN THE UNITED STATES, IS
WHAT EXACTLY DOES THIS MEAN FOR
OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH SAUDI
ARABIA?
ARABIA? WE ACTUALLY HAVE SOME NEW
COMMENTS FROM THE PRESIDENT ON
THIS QUESTION.
THIS QUESTION. HE WAS JUST ANSWERING QUESTIONS
FROM REPORTERS WHO ARE TRAVELING
WITH HIM.
WITH HIM. LET’S TAKE A LOOK AT.
THAT WE WILL TALK ABOUT IT.
>> MR. PRESIDENT, ARE YOU
RE-EVALUATING THE RELATIONSHIP
WITH SAUDI ARABIA?
>> WELL, WE ARE GOING TO FIND
OUT WHAT HAPPENED WITH RESPECT
TO THE TERRIBLE SITUATION IN
TURKEY, HAVING TO DO WITH SAUDI
ARABIA, AND THE REPORTER, AND
NOBODY KNOWS QUITE YET.
NOBODY HAS BEEN ABLE TO PUT IT
ALL TOGETHER.
ALL TOGETHER. PEOPLE ARE STARTING TO FORM
IDEAS.
IDEAS. AND AS THEY’RE FORMED, WE WILL
LET YOU KNOW.
BUT CERTAINLY IS A TERRIBLE
THING.
THING. >> A TERRIBLE THING.
HE SEEMS TO CAST THIS IN A
LITTLE BIT MORE NEGATIVE LIGHT
THAN HE DID YESTERDAY.
BUT AT THE SAME TIME, NO
INDICATIONS FROM PRESIDENT TRUMP
THAT THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WILL
FUNDAMENTALLY CHANGE THE U.S.
RELATIONSHIP WITH SAUDI ARABIA.
STEVE MNUCHIN STILL ATTENDING A
CONFERENCE THERE AT THE RITZ
CARLTON HOTEL THAT WAS ACTUALLY
USED AS SOMETHING OF A LUXURY
PRISON FOR SOME OF THE POLITICAL
ENEMIES OF MBS.
WHAT IS YOUR TAKE ON HOW THIS
SHOULD AFFECT U.S. RELATIONS
WITH SAUDI ARABIA?
>> Reporter: WELL, I THINK WHAT
PRESIDENT TRUMP WAS SAYING RIGHT
NOW IS THAT HE WANTS AN
EXPLANATION FROM SAUDI ARABIA.
SO FAR, SAUDI AUTHORITIES
HAVEN’T BEEN GIVING AN
EXPLANATION.
EXPLANATION. THEY HAVE ONLY BEEN SAYING THAT
KHASHOGGI WENT INTO THIS
CONSULATE BEHIND ME, AND THEY
SAY THAT AS FAR AS THEY KNOW, HE
LEFT AND WAS ALIVE AND WELL AND
THEY DON’T KNOW WHAT HAPPENED TO
HIM AFTER THAT.
WHAT WE’VE SEEN OVER THE LAST
WEEK OR SO IS INCREASING
PRESSURE FROM THE TURKS, WHERE
WITH LEAKING OUT INFORMATION,
MORE INFORMATION COMING OUT
TODAY, ABOUT THESE RECORDINGS,
AND WHAT MAY HAVE BEEN THE
SOURCE OF THESE RECORDINGS.
PRESSURE FROM THE "WASHINGTON
POST," PRESSURE FROM THE WHITE
HOUSE AS WELL, PRESSURE FROM
MEMBERS OF CONGRESS, TO GET THE
SAUDIS TO AT LEAST GIVE MORE OF
AN EXPLANATION.
AN EXPLANATION. AND TODAY, WE SAW SAUDI ARABIA
SAY WE WILL PARTICIPATE WITH
TURKEY IN SOME SORT OF JOINT
INVESTIGATION.
INVESTIGATION. SO WE WILL HAVE TO SEE WHAT THE
SAUDIS SAY.
SAUDIS SAY. THEY MAY COME UP WITH A
PREPOSTEROUS EXCUSE.
PREPOSTEROUS EXCUSE. THEY MAY TRY AND BLAME ANOTHER
GOVERNMENT.
GOVERNMENT. THEY MIGHT TRY TO BLAME A ROGUE
AGENT.
AGENT. I THINK WHAT YOU JUST HEARD FROM
THE PRESIDENT IS HIM SAYING,
LET’S HEAR WHAT THE SAUDIS HAVE
TO SAY, AND MAYBE HE WILL ACCEPT
THAT, WHATEVER OFFER THEY HAVE,
AND USE THAT AS AN EXCUSE TO
RESUME NEGOTIATIONS.
RESUME NEGOTIATIONS. BUT I THINK NOW, THE BALL HAS
BEEN PUT FIRMLY IN THE SAUDIS’
COURT TO COME UP WITH A BETTER
ANSWER.
ANSWER. >> SOME OF WHAT YOU WERE JUST
SAYING, RICHARD, SUGGESTS
WARMING RELATIONS POTENTIALLY
FROM THE UNITED STATES AND
TURKEY, AND THIS ALSO COINCIDES
WITH THE RELEASE OF PASTOR
BRUNSON.
BRUNSON. WHAT ROLE DO YOU THINK THAT
RELATIONSHIP, THE ONE BETWEEN
U.S. AND TURKEY, PLAYING HOW
THIS PLAYS OUT WITH MR.
KHASHOGGI?
KHASHOGGI? >> Reporter: SO THERE ARE A LOT
OF DYNAMICS THAT ARE AT PLAY
RIGHT NOW AS THIS CRISIS A
LITTLE BIT CAME OUT OF NO PLACE.
EVERYBODY KNEW THAT KHASHOGGI
WAS NOT AIN GOOD GRACES WITH THE
SAUDI GOVERNMENT.
SAUDI GOVERNMENT. HE HIMSELF KNEW IT.
HE KNEW IT WASN’T SAFE FOR HIM
TO BE LIVING IN SAUDI ARABIA.
THE TURKS KNEW IT.
THAT IS WHY HE HAD BEEN LIVING
IN EX ILT -- EXILE IN THE UNITED
STATES AND SPEND QUITE A BIT OF
TIME IN TURKEY HERE AS WELL.
NOW, TURKEY’S RELATIONSHIP WITH
SAUDI ARABIA HAS COME TO A HEAD.
THIS CRISIS IS NOW MADE IT, NOT
AN OPEN WAR YET, BUT CERTAINLY
AN OPEN WOUND BETWEEN THE
TURKISH GOVERNMENT AND THE SAUDI
GOVERNMENT, AND THAT, FOR
TURKEY, COULD BE A VERY
EXPENSIVE PROSPECT.
EXPENSIVE PROSPECT. SAUDI ARABIA IS AN ENORMOUSLY
POWERFUL OIL RICH KINGDOM.
AND TURKEY HAS BEEN IN THE MIDST
OF AN ECONOMIC WAR WITH THE
UNITED STATES, OVER THE
INCARCERATION OF PASTOR BRUNSON.
SO I THINK IT MAKES SENSE, AND I
THINK THAT IS WHAT WE SAW TODAY,
IS AS TURKEY IS LOOKING AT ITS
FUTURE, AT LEAST IN THE SHORT
TERM, AND IT IS SEEING A FIGHT
WITH RICH SAUDI ARABIA, IT WANTS
TO GET OUT OF THE FIGHT, AND DID
GET OUT OF THE FIGHT, I THINK,
WITH THE UNITED STATES BY
RELEASING THE PASTOR.