U.S. President Donald Trump fiercely defended Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Tuesday over the 2018 killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, insisting the kingdom’s de facto ruler “knew nothing” about the murder as he welcomed him at the White House.
In 2018, Khashoggi, a Washington Post columnist, was killed inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, an act that sparked global outrage and widespread condemnation.
The Saudi royal, who arrived bearing a pledge of a $1 trillion investment in the United States on his first U.S. visit since the killing, said Khashoggi’s murder was “painful” and a “huge mistake.”
After the meeting, the journalist’s widow, Hanan Elatr Khashoggi, said in a post on X that there was “no justification” to murder her husband. She also called on the Saudi prince to meet with her, apologize, and provide compensation, citing a 2021 U.S. intelligence report that concluded Prince Mohammed had ordered the operation to kill Khashoggi.
