Four Saudis who participated in the 2018 killing of the Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi received paramilitary training in the United States the previous year under a contract approved by the State Department, the New York Times reported on Tuesday.
Bryan Wood reports.
The U.S. State Department under former President Donald Trump approved paramilitary training for several of the Saudi operatives who killed Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018.
That's according to a New York Times report on Tuesday.
It say sthe State Department in 2017 issued a paramilitary training contract to the private equity firm, Cerberus.
Last year, while being vetted by the Trump White House for a senior Pentagon job, Cerberus senior executive Louis Bremer confirmed in writing that his company trained four members of the Khashoggi kill team.
The Times reported Bremer’s admission never made it to congress because his nomination was withdrawn.
On Tuesday, State Department spokesperson Ned Price said he could not comment on the defense license in question.
Khashoggi was an opinion columnist for the Washington Post.
He was killed and dismembered by Saudi operatives linked to the Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
A U.S. intelligence report earlier this year said the crown prince had approved an operation to capture or kill the journalist.
