Oh come on. This is a weasely statement calculated to create a false impression of uncertainty by setting an unrealistic bar. You can form a conclusion with a high degree of certainty without “direct reporting” to that effect.
“No direct reporting” doesn’t mean they don’t have very strong evidence, though it’s the kind of narrow, jargony statement you make when you hope your audience doesn’t know the difference.
I mean, it would be nice to have an audiotape of MBS ordering the murder, or a CIA asset who personally witnessed it. But I guarantee Pompeo doesn’t pretend that’s a prerequisite for a high-confidence assessment in contexts where he’s not under political pressure to feign doubt.
Also... this is ridiculous. The default position is OF COURSE this was done with the knowledge & approval of MBS, because it’s absurd to think an operation of this size, complexity, and sensitivity would be undertaken without it.
The question isn’t “do we have specific intel establishing his knowledge for this case?”; it’s whether there’s any intel that would give any reason to question it.
