Replying to a question by a reporter about Khashoggi’s murder, Trump said, “You’re mentioning someone that was extremely controversial. A lot of people didn’t like that gentleman that you’re talking about. Whether you like him or didn’t like him, things happen”
US President Donald Trump has said that the visiting Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman “knew nothing” about the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, drifting away from Washington’s earlier conclusion that the de facto ruler of the kingdom was involved in the murder.
Trump’s comments came as he hosted MBS at the White House on Tuesday. Replying to a question by a reporter about Khashoggi’s murder, Trump said, “You’re mentioning someone that was extremely controversial. A lot of people didn’t like that gentleman that you’re talking about. Whether you like him or didn’t like him, things happen.”
This is MBS’s first visit to the US since the 2018 killing. The president added, “But he [the Crown Prince] knew nothing about it. You don’t have to embarrass our guests.”
Is Trump right?
Trump’s latest statements are contradictory to a US intelligence assessment in 2021, which concluded that the crown prince had approved the operation that led to Khashoggi’s death at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in 2018.
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