Trump Rejects US Intel on Khashoggi Killing as He Welcomes Saudi Crown Prince to White House

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday dismissed intelligence findings from his own government that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman likely approved the 2018 killing of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

The president made the remarks while hosting the Saudi crown prince at the White House, marking Prince Mohammed’s first visit to Washington in seven years. The 2018 murder of Khashoggi, a Saudi citizen and Virginia resident, caused a major diplomatic rift between the two countries.

Speaking alongside the crown prince in the Oval Office, Mr Trump described Khashoggi as “extremely controversial,” claiming that “a lot of people didn’t like that gentleman.” He insisted that Prince Mohammed had “nothing” to do with the killing, adding, “You don’t have to embarrass our guest by asking a question like that.”

Prince Mohammed has consistently denied involvement in the killing, which US intelligence agencies concluded he likely approved. The assessment, declassified in 2021 under President Biden after the Trump administration withheld it, determined that Saudi agents carried out the murder inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.

During the Oval Office appearance, the crown prince said Saudi authorities took “all the right steps” to investigate Khashoggi’s death, calling it “painful” and a “huge mistake.”

Human rights advocates strongly criticised Mr Trump’s comments. Raed Jarrar, advocacy director for Democracy for the Arab World Now—a group founded by Khashoggi—accused the president of having “Jamal Khashoggi’s blood on his hands” for dismissing the intelligence findings.