US President Donald Trump described Riyadh's handling of the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi as "the worst cover-up ever."
"The plan to kill Khashoggi was bad from the start," he said. "Covering up the process was also bad," he said, adding that those who thought of the scheme "are now in serious trouble."
Trump told reporters in the White House Tuesday that he would leave Congress to determine the consequences of Khashoggi's death on Saudi Arabia, provided he consulted with him.
He said that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was "very harsh" on Saudi Arabia in his speech Tuesday before the parliamentary bloc of his party.
Trump said he would not accept Erdogan's assessment of the issue before he knew all the facts about Khashoggi's death at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul earlier this month.
The US president said he expected a "good report" soon after the CIA chief was sent to Turkey to discuss the issue.
Trump promised to impose sanctions on Saudi Arabia and repeated his famous statement, which he said on more than one occasion, "We protect rich countries like Saudi Arabia and have to pay the price."
The US president said he would leave Congress to determine the consequences of Khashoggi's death on Saudi Arabia, CNN reported, adding that he told Saudi officials he was blaming them for making him look bad.
For his part, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that the US administration will work with Congress and its allies to hold accountable those responsible for the death of Khashoggi, stressing that his ministry will cancel visas for those responsible for the killing of Khashoggi.
He added that he would work with the Treasury to examine the possibility of applying the Majensky law to global accountability for these individuals and that the United States "does not tolerate this kind of cruel action." But he stressed that "common strategic interests with Saudi Arabia remain."
The US official said Washington had identified some of those responsible for the killing of Khashoggi, including intelligence officials, the Royal Court, the Saudi Foreign Ministry and other ministries.