Journalism of Courage
US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was not aware of the 2018 killing of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi, comments that run against the findings of US intelligence, the BBC reported.
Trump made the remarks after an ABC journalist asked whether Americans should trust the crown prince, noting anger among families of 9/11 victims and long-standing concerns about Saudi Arabia’s role. The journalist also raised questions about Trump family business ties in the kingdom.
Trump replied that he had “nothing” to do with the family’s business operations and said they had “little” involvement in Saudi Arabia. He said his focus was on the United States.
President Trump repeated his view that the crown prince was not involved in Khashoggi’s death.
“You’re mentioning somebody that was extremely controversial,” he said, referring to Khashoggi. “A lot of people didn’t like that gentleman that you’re talking about. Whether you like him or didn’t like him, things happened. But he knew nothing about it.”
He added: “We can leave it at that. You don’t have to embarrass our guest by asking something like that.”
The crown prince said he felt “painful” about the families of 9/11 victims and described Khashoggi’s death as “painful” to hear about. He called the killing a “huge mistake”, the BBC reported.
He said the “right steps” had been taken during the Saudi investigation and added that the system had been improved “to ensure nothing happens like that again”.
A 2021 US intelligence assessment found that the crown prince had approved the operation to “capture or kill” Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.
The BBC reported that the assessment cited, the prince’s control over key decisions since 2017, the involvement of one of his advisers and members of his security detail, and his previous support for using force against dissidents abroad.
The report also named individuals suspected of involvement in the killing. Saudi authorities blamed the death on a “rogue operation” and a Saudi court sentenced five people to 20 years in prison in 2020.
