Fox News host Shepard Smith on Tuesday criticized President Donald Trump for doubting the CIA's reported conclusion that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman ordered the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi and defending the kingdom as an "ally."
"President Trump stands with Saudi Arabia," Smith said on air, echoing the title of the "Statement from President Donald J. Trump on Standing with Saudi Arabia" that the White House had released earlier.
"Today the President insulted the murder victim and sided with the Saudis, who said our CIA is wrong. We now know that the Saudi hit squad tortured and killed Jamal inside the Saudi consulate in Turkey," Smith continued, reading part of what he described as Trump's "lengthy missive riddled with presidential exclamation points."
Trump stated that U.S. intelligence agencies are continuing to assess all the information on Khashoggi's case and that "it could very well be that the Crown Prince had knowledge of this tragic event—maybe he did and maybe he didn't!"
The president stated "we may never know" the facts around Khashoggi's murder and "in any case, our relationship is with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia."
"They have been a great ally in our very important fight against Iran," Trump stated. "The United States intends to remain a steadfast partner of Saudi Arabia to ensure the interests of our country, Israel and all other partners in the region."
Lawmakers, Democrats and some Republicans, have strongly criticized Trump for refusing to blame Saudi Arabia, a kingdom with which he has shared personal business ties.
"So the president may not have the last say. We're waiting for the full report from the CIA. But today the president got ahead of his intelligence agencies," Smith concluded. "In essence, for now, it doesn't matter what the intel says, we're standing with the Saudi kingdom."
Saudi journalist Khashoggi penned stories critical of the kingdom for The Washington Post. Saudi agents killed him in the kingdom's consulate in October. Saudi Arabia initially denied involvement following Khashoggi's disappearance, but then placed responsibility on its officials and seeks to sentence five of them to death.
Unlike Smith, Fox News host Sean Hannity defended Trump on his stance.
"As evil as this kingdom, the president is right. Saudi Arabia has now emerged at an important point in history as a partner in the Middle East," Hannity said. "As a country, we have got to make a lot of tough, strategic decisions."
Smith has received praise in the past from hosts of other cable news networks.
"Shep Smith once again told the truth, as Shep Smith always seems to tell the truth, about this so-called fantasy caravan," MSNBC's Morning Joe co-host Joe Scarborough said last month of the Fox News host's reporting of a migrant caravan.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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A Los Angeles native, Jessica Kwong grew up speaking Spanish, Cantonese and English, in that order. Her journalism career started ... Read more
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