US slams 'one of worst cover-ups' in Khashoggi case

The United States said Tuesday it was revoking visas of Saudis involved in the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, as President Donald Trump ridiculed the kingdom's response as "one of the worst cover-ups" in history.

The move came as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Khashoggi's killing inside the Saudis' Istanbul consulate had been meticulously planned, in a speech that overshadowed a long-planned investment forum in Riyadh.

Saudi leaders have denied involvement in the killing, pushing responsibility down the chain of command.

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman "strongly said that he had nothing to do with this, this was at a lower level," US President Donald Trump said, adding he had spoken Monday to the prince and his father King Salman.

Trump said the Saudis had a "very bad original concept" in killing the 59-year-old Saudi insider-turned-critic.

"It was carried out poorly and the cover-up was one of the worst in the history of cover-ups," Trump said.

"It was a total fiasco," he later added. "I'm saying they should have never thought about it. Once they thought about it, everything else they did was bad too ... It should have never happened."