President Trump said Tuesday that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, known as MBS, “knew nothing” about the 2018 murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, despite a 2021 intelligence report finding bin Salman ordered the killing.
“You’re mentioning somebody that was extremely controversial,” Mr. Trump said about Khashoggi in response to a question from a journalist about his business dealings with bin Salman despite the intelligence report’s findings. “A lot of people didn’t like that gentleman that you’re talking about, whether you like him or didn’t like him, things happen, but he knew nothing about it and we can leave it at that.”
Bin Salman is making his first visit to the White House since Khashoggi’s murder. Bin Salman has denied any involvement, but he told CBS News’ Norah O’Donnell in a 2019 “60 Minutes” interview, “I take full responsibility as a leader in Saudi Arabia, especially since it was committed by individuals working for the Saudi government.”
The 2021 U.S. intelligence report concluded that “the Crown Prince has had absolute control over the Kingdom’s security and intelligence organizations, making it highly unlikely that Saudi officials would have carried out an operation of this nature without the Crown Prince’s authorization.”
After Mr. Trump’s comments Tuesday, Khashoggi’s widow, Hanan Khashoggi, directed a message on social media to him, writing, “There is no justification to murder my husband.”
“While Jamal was a good transparent and brave man many people may not have agreed with his opinions and desire for freedom of the press,” she wrote.
Mr. Trump insisted he has “nothing to do” with his family’s business dealings with Saudi Arabia, and insisted “they’ve done very little with Saudi Arabia, actually.”
Mr. Trump called bin Salman his friend and praised him as “incredible on human rights and everything else” as the Saudi royal made his first visit to the White House since Khashoggi’s killing.
