Trump says there will be 'a report' by Tuesday on Khashoggi's murder

Washington DC: US President Donald Trump has said he had spoken with the CIA chief on the agency's assessment of the killing of Jamal Khashoggi and that there will be a "very full report" by Tuesday, amid reports that it had held the powerful Saudi crown prince responsible for the murder of the dissident journalist.

The death of 59-year-old Khashoggi, a onetime insider turned critic of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and a resident of the US, has spurred a wave of international anger against Saudi Arabia and its ruler.

In an interaction with reporters in California on Saturday, Trump said that he spoke with Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Director Gina Haspel, who has been studying this case very closely.

"It's a horrible thing that took place, the killing of a journalist...It should never have happened," Trump said.

Asked about reports that the CIA had assessed involvement by the crown prince, the president said, "they haven't assessed anything yet. It's too early. That was a very a premature report."

"We'll be having a very full report over the next two days, probably Monday or Tuesday," Trump said.

He then said more definitely that there would be "a report on Tuesday."

The report will address what "we think the overall impact was and who caused it, and who did it." "In the meantime we're doing things to some people that we know for a fact were involved and we're being very tough on a lot of people," he added.

Khashoggi, a Washington Post columnist, was last seen entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2 to obtain paperwork for his marriage.

Saudi Arabia had offered a series of contradictory explanations for Khashoggi's death. After repeated denials, Saudi Arabia finally admitted Khashoggi had been murdered at the compound but blamed it on a "rogue" operation.