Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin announced Thursday that he would not be attending the upcoming investment conference in Saudi Arabia, the latest high-profile drop out from the event amid a global outcry over the disappearance of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
"Just met with @ realDonaldTrump and @ SecPompeo and we have decided, I will not be participating in the Future Investment Initiative summit in Saudi Arabia," Mnuchin wrote in a post on Twitter.
A host of Wall Street power players and international finance leaders have announced in recent days that they would no longer be attending the conference, dubbed "Davos in the Desert."
Among those who dropped out are JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, Blackstone CEO Stephen Schwarzman, as well as the chiefs of Uber, BlackRock, MasterCard and Viacom, among others.
On Tuesday, Christine Lagarde, the managing director of the International Monetary Fund, announced that she too would not attend.
A number of media outlets, including CNBC, have also dropped out of the conference. The New York Times, Bloomberg, CNN and the Financial Times have all withdrawn from the event, which is scheduled to begin on Tuesday in the Saudi Arabian capital.
Mnuchin tweet
Khashoggi, a Saudi Arabian journalist who contributed to The Washington Post and lived in the United States, has not been seen since entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul Oct. 2. Turkish authorities have accused the Saudi government of dismembering and killing Khashoggi. The Saudi government has denied any involvement in the alleged killing.
President Donald Trump has expressed doubt that Khashoggi was murdered by the Saudis, and has floated, without evidence, the possibility that the dissident was targeted by "rogue killers."
Earlier Thursday, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who Trump dispatched to Saudi Arabia to meet with officials there, told reporters that Saudi Arabian officials "assured me that they will conduct a complete and thorough investigation."
This is breaking news. Check back for updates.
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