Khashoggi Murder case: 3 names mysteriously removed after primary publication

Soon after the US intelligence disclosed the long-awaited report on Friday afternoon on the Saudis who were responsible for the gruesome murder of Jamal Khashoggi, it was taken down without explanation and replaced with another statement that removed three names it previously termed complicit claims a media report.

According to the CNN report, the quick change in the report by the US Office of the Director of National Intelligence went vastly unnoticed as the backlash against President Joe Biden grew as he flunked to punish the Saudi Crown Prince even after declaring in no certain terms that MBS was responsible.

The first report link sent out by ODNI went dead. Later on, it was replaced with a second version that removed the three names it had announced: “participated in, ordered or were otherwise complicit in or accountable for the death of Jamal Khashoggi.”

ODNI refused to clarify as to why the names were on the list and what roles if any, they may have had in Khashoggi’s killing.

“We put a revised document on the website because the original one erroneously contained three names which should not have been included,” an ODNI spokesperson told CNN.

On Friday, a senior Biden administration official had insisted before the change was noticed that the second report had no different information.

“This information that has been known to the U.S. government and briefed to select committees and members of Congress over one year ago,” the official said.

During the presidential campaign, Biden had said he would make Saudi Arabia “the pariah that they are.”

The first of the three names removed is Abdulla Mohammed Alhoeriny, brother of General Abdulaziz bin Mohammed al-Howraini, a minister who is in charge of the powerful Presidency of State Security, which supervises multiple intelligence and counterterrorism agencies.

Yasir Khalid Alsalem and Ibrahim al-Salim are the other two other names that appeared in the unclassified intelligence report and then disappeared. It is not yet clear who they are. These names had not previously been mentioned in reports about Khashoggi’s death.

However, these three men are not in the 18 people listed in the revised intelligence report, whose file name on the ODNI website includes “v2,” which clearly states it is the second version.

The report declassified by Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines assessed that the Crown Prince, known as MBS, agreed with the operation in Istanbul to “capture or kill” Khashoggi.

The first report had 21 names and 2nd report – 18 names when it was revised.
The force that serves as the defensive element for MBS, known as the “Tiger Squad,” was also sanctioned.

The State Department also published 76 unnamed Saudis would be banned from the United States under a “Khashoggi Ban.”

The Saudi government immediately reacted to Friday’s report and condemned its conclusions.
“The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia completely rejects the negative, false and unacceptable assessment in the report pertaining to the Kingdom’s leadership, and notes that the report contained inaccurate information and conclusions,” a statement read.

“The recalibration of relations with Saudi Arabia began on January 20th and it’s ongoing. The Administration took a wide range of new actions on Friday,” a White House official said. “The President is referring to the fact that on Monday, the State Department will provide more details and elaborate on those announcements, not new announcements.”