Trump clears Saudi prince in 2018 journalist’s slay
WASHINGTON—President Donald Trump on Tuesday dismissed US intelligence findings that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman likely had some culpability in the 2018 killing of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi as Trump warmly welcomed the de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia on his first White House visit in seven years.
The US-Saudi relationship had, for a time, been sent into a tailspin by the operation targeting Khashoggi, a fierce critic of the kingdom.
But seven years later, the dark clouds over the relationship have been cleared away. And Trump is tightening his embrace of the 40-year-old crown prince, who he said is an indispensable player in shaping the Middle East in the decades to come.
Trump in his defense of the crown prince derided Khashoggi as “extremely controversial” and said “a lot of people didn’t like that gentleman.” Prince Mohammed denies involvement in the killing of Khashoggi, who was a Saudi citizen and Virginia resident.
‘Nothing to do with it’
“Whether you like him or didn’t like him, things happen,” Trump said when asked about the killing by a reporter during an Oval Office appearance with Prince Mohammed. “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.”
But US intelligence officials determined that the Saudi crown prince likely approved the killing by Saudi agents of the US-based journalist inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, according to US findings declassified in 2021 at the start of the Biden administration. Trump officials, during his first administration, refused to release the report.
Prince Mohammed said Saudi Arabia “did all the right steps” to investigate Khashoggi’s death.
“It’s painful and it’s a huge mistake,” he said.
Trump, who said the two leaders have become “good friends,” even commended the Saudi leader for strides made by the kingdom on human rights without providing any specific detail.
New investment
The crown prince for his part announced Saudi Arabia was increasing its planned investments in the United States to $1 trillion, up from $600 billion that the Saudis announced they would pour into the United States when Trump visited the kingdom in May.
Echoing rhetoric that Trump likes to use, the crown prince called the United States the “hottest country on the planet” for foreign investment.
“What you’re creating is not about an opportunity today. It’s also about long-term opportunity,” Prince Mohammed said.
