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Trump reveals if Saudi Crown Prince knew about 2018 killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said that Saudi Arabia "did all the right steps" to probe Khashoggi's death. "It's painful and it's a huge mistake," he added.
President Donald Trump on Tuesday dismissed US intelligence findings that Saudi Arabia Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman knew about the 2018 killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, saying he "knew nothing about it".
Trump welcomed the Saudi ruler to Washington in Salman's first visit to the White House in seven years. The US-Saudi ties had gone for a spin because of the operation targeting Khashoggi, a fierce critic of the kingdom.
However, the dark clouds have now passed, with Trump tightening his embrace of the Crown Prince, whom the US President has described as an indispensable player in shaping the Middle East in the decades to come.
Donald Trump defended Salman and described Jamal Khashoggi as "extremely controversial", saying that "a lot of people didn't like" the Washington Post journalist. The Crown Prince has denied his involvement in Khashoggi's killing.
“Whether you like him or didn't like him, things happen,” Trump said of the killing of Khashoggi, who was a Saudi citizen and Virginia resident. "But (Prince Mohammed) knew nothing about it. And we can leave it at that. You don't have to embarrass our guest by asking a question like that," the US President added.
However, US intelligence officials had determined that Salman likely approved the US-based journalist's murder by Saudi agents inside the kingdom's consulate in Istanbul, The Associated Press reported, citing US findings declassified in 2021 at the beginning of the former Biden regime.
Prince Mohammed bin Salman said that Saudi Arabia "did all the right steps" to probe Khashoggi's death. "It's painful and it's a huge mistake," he added.
Trump also hailed the Crown Prince for strides made by Saudi on human rights, saying "I'm very proud of the job he's done." He further stated, "What's he done is incredible in terms of human rights and everything else."
Trump's defence of the Saudi Prince, however, did not sit well with human rights and government oversight activists.
Human rights groups said that Saudi authorities continue to repress dissent, including by arresting human rights defenders, journalists, and political dissidents for criticism against the kingdom. They also mentioned an increasing number of executions in Saudi Arabia that they linked to an effort to suppress internal dissent.
Robert Weissman, co-president of the government watchdog group Public Citizen, said, "Trump's shameful and disgusting comments about the assassination of Jamal Khashoggi cannot be separated from Trump's personal business interests with the Saudi regime."
