US President Donald Trump on Tuesday said that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had known nothing about the 2018 killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi as he welcomed him to the White House. Trump’s remarks seemed to go against a 2021 US intelligence report that concluded the crown prince had approved the operation that led to Khashoggi’s death at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.
The crown prince, who has denied any wrongdoing, said at the White House that Saudi Arabia “did all the right things” to investigate Khashoggi’s death, which he described as “painful”. This was his first visit to the United States since the assassination, an event that deeply strained ties between Washington and Riyadh.
What really happened
Trump pushed back on Tuesday when a reporter raised a question about the Khashoggi killing. He responded by saying the journalist she mentioned was a highly divisive figure and that many people did not like him. Trump added that, regardless of opinions about Khashoggi, “things happen,” and insisted that the crown prince had no role in the murder. He told the reporter not to put their guest in an uncomfortable position.
“You don’t have to embarrass our guests,” Trump said.
Responding to the question Prince Mohammed said Saudi Arabia had taken every proper step in its investigation, describing the killing as painful and a serious mistake.
Trump contradicts US intelligence report
A US intelligence report released in 2021 during former president Joe Biden’s term found that the crown prince had approved a plan to “capture or kill” Khashoggi in Istanbul. During Trump’s first term, his administration chose not to make the report public. After the killing, several Saudi officials were sanctioned, but the measures did not directly target the crown prince. Saudi Arabia dismissed the report as false and unacceptable.
On Tuesday, Khashoggi’s widow urged the crown prince to apologise for her husband’s murder, saying it could not be excused. She posted on X that he had said he was sorry, and therefore should meet her, apologise directly and compensate her. She now lives in the Washington DC area under political asylum.
Former US president Biden did not host the crown prince and once vowed to isolate Saudi Arabia over its human rights record. However, in 2022, Biden travelled to the kingdom to secure cooperation on other key issues.