Flake: ‘Doesn’t seem to be’ any other explanation than Saudi involvement in journalist’s disappearance

Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) said Sunday that there “doesn’t seem to be” any other explanation than the involvement of Saudi Arabia in journalist Jamal Khashoggi’s disappearance.

“There sure doesn’t seem to be,” Flake said when asked on ABC’s “This Week” if there was any other plausible explanation for Khashoggi’s disappearance beyond the allegations from Turkish officials that Saudi operatives murdered and dismembered him.

“The Saudi Arabian ambassador has been asked … to bring information back,” Flake explained. “They haven’t done so.”

{mosads}He added that the explanations provided so far by Saudi Arabia, whose government has denied Turkey’s accusations, aren’t “plausible.”

“Their explanation that their closed circuit television just streamed and didn’t record just isn’t plausible,” Flake said. “There’s no good explanation and I think they know it.”

Sen. Jeff Flake says there “doesn’t seem to be” any other explanation than Saudi Arabia’s involvement in the disappearance of journalist Jamal Khashoggi: “There’s just no good explanation, and I think they know it.” https://t.co/iqSUMNUqhI #ThisWeek pic.twitter.com/AQSUPQcv0r

— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) October 14, 2018

Khashoggi, who has written pieces critical of the Saudi government, was last seen entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2.

The Washington Post last Wednesday reported that U.S. intelligence has intercepted communications between Saudi officials regarding orders from Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to lure Khashoggi to Saudi Arabia and hold him there.

President Trump has said he will deal severely with Saudi Arabia if the allegations turn out to be true.

In his comments Sunday to ABC, Flake said arms sales to Saudi Arabia, along with the U.S. involvement in their conflict in Yemen, should both be affected.