Business as usual: US Treasury Secretary meets with Saudi Crown Prince amid Khashoggi outrage

A photo of Mnuchin and bin Salman together was posted by the Saudi Foreign Ministry on Twitter. During their meeting in Riyadh, the Crown Prince stressed “the importance of Saudi-US strategic partnership, where it holds an important role in the future in line with the Kingdom’s #Vision2030,” the ministry stated.

Saudi Vision 2030 is a long-term development plan, designed to reduce the Kingdom’s dependence on oil revenues and diversify its fossil-fuel-driven economy.

The meeting, which had not been specifically announced as part of Mnuchin’s six-country Middle East trip, comes as Trump refuses to halt $450 billion in arms sales to Riyadh despite facing pressure from both sides of the aisle at home. Mnuchin earlier joined a host of high-profile attendees who announced they were pulling out of an upcoming major investment conference hosted by the Saudis.

The calls for the president to scrap the lucrative deals have become more vocal since the Saudi government admitted on Saturday that the Washington Post columnist had died in the consulate. However, it is still unclear what led to the journalist’s death, as Riyadh has been changing its own account of events. The Saudis initially claimed that Khashoggi, a vocal critic of the Crown Family, was killed in an impromptu “fistfight” that broke out inside the consulate, only to state later that his demise was a result of a “rogue operation” of which the Crown Prince had no prior knowledge.

While Republican and Democratic lawmakers have called into question the Saudi version of events, Trump on Monday also appeared to cast doubt on the explanation provided by Riyadh. “I am not satisfied with what I’ve heard,” he said, referring to his phone call with bin Salman earlier on Monday.

Khashoggi was last seen entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2. The Turkish authorities, who promised to reveal “the naked truth” behind the slain columnist’s death on Tuesday, allege that the journalist was a victim of a “Saudi hit squad.” It is alleged that Khashoggi was tortured and dismembered inside the consulate in an apparent pre-meditated assassination.

US’ European allies have urged a transparent investigation into the circumstances of the journalist’s death, with German Chancellor Angela Merkel saying that as long as his death is shrouded in secrecy, Germany will not export any arms to Saudi Arabia. So far, Trump has been reluctant to follow her lead, arguing that halting Saudi arms exports will hurt the US economy. 

READ MORE: Khashoggi murder a ‘monstrosity’, no arms exports to Riyadh until incident cleared up – Merkel

Mnuchin, who earlier confirmed his visit to Riyadh as part of the Middle East tour, has neither issued any comment on his talks with bin Salman, nor released a photo of the meeting.

The Washington Post’s correspondent Damian Paletta reported, citing Mnuchin’s spokesman, that the two also touched upon the Khashoggi murder, of which there is no mention in the Saudi statement. 

The news of Mnuchin meeting the Crown Prince in Riyadh has sparked a fresh wave of outrage among lawmakers and observers.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) called the meeting “a sad day for America” and a “seeming sell out.”

“Are we now a pawn of Saudi propaganda?” he tweeted.

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