Washington — President Trump mentioned Tuesday that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, referred to as MBS, “knew nothing” in regards to the 2018 homicide of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, despite a 2021 intelligence report discovering bin Salman ordered the killing.
“You are mentioning any person that was extraordinarily controversial,” Mr. Trump mentioned about Khashoggi in response to a query from a journalist about his enterprise dealings with bin Salman regardless of the intelligence report’s findings. “Lots of people did not like that gentleman that you just’re speaking about, whether or not you want him or did not like him, issues occur, however he knew nothing about it and we are able to go away it at that.”
Sitting subsequent to Mr. Trump within the Oval Workplace whereas visiting the White House, bin Salman mentioned, “In regards to the journalist, it is actually painful to listen to that anybody dropping his life for no actual objective.” The crown prince additionally mentioned, “We did all the best steps by way of investigation, and so forth., in Saudi Arabia and we have improved our system to make certain that nothing occurred like that.”
“It is painful and it is an enormous mistake, and we’re doing our greatest that can by no means occur once more,” bin Salman mentioned.
Bin Salman is making his first go to to the White Home since Khashoggi’s homicide. Bin Salman has denied any involvement, however he told CBS News’ Norah O’Donnell in a 2019 “60 Minutes” interview, “I take full duty as a pacesetter in Saudi Arabia, particularly because it was dedicated by people working for the Saudi authorities.”
The 2021 U.S. intelligence report concluded that “the Crown Prince has had absolute management over the Kingdom’s safety and intelligence organizations, making it extremely unlikely that Saudi officers would have carried out an operation of this nature with out the Crown Prince’s authorization.”
After Mr. Trump’s feedback Tuesday, Khashoggi’s widow, Hanan Elatr Khashoggi, directed a message on social media to him, writing, “There isn’t a justification to homicide my husband.”
“Whereas Jamal was a great clear and courageous man many individuals could not have agreed along with his opinions and want for freedom of the press,” she wrote.
In an interview with CBS News, she mentioned she was “harm” and “disillusioned” by the Oval Workplace remarks.
Mr. Trump referred to as bin Salman his good friend and praised him as “unbelievable on human rights and all the pieces else” because the Saudi royal made his first go to to the White Home since Khashoggi’s killing.
Mr. Trump additionally insisted he has “nothing to do” along with his household’s enterprise dealings with Saudi Arabia, and mentioned, “they’ve executed little or no with Saudi Arabia, truly.”
As households of victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist assault have pursued a civil lawsuit alleging the dominion sponsored, aided and supported the al Qaeda hijackers, bin Salman has sought to distance the Saudi authorities from the assault.
“I really feel painful about, you understand, households of 9/11 in America, however you understand, now we have to deal with actuality,” bin Salman mentioned Tuesday. “Actuality based mostly on CIA paperwork and based mostly on quite a lot of paperwork that Osama bin Laden used Saudi folks in that occasion for one objective: To destroy this relation, the American-Saudi relationship.”
Bin Salman mentioned that “whoever buys that” is “serving to Osama bin Laden’s objective of destroying this relation.” Bin Salman mentioned bin Laden knew the “robust” relationship between America and Saudi Arabia is “unhealthy for extremism.”
Bin Salman and Mr. Trump introduced Tuesday that Saudi Arabia will increase its investments of $600 billion within the U.S. to just about $1 trillion.
