A U.S. president has publicly absolved Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of any responsibility for the 2018 killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, a statement that directly contradicts the findings of his own intelligence community.
During a meeting at the White House, the president asserted that the crown prince “knew nothing” about the assassination, which occurred inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. When questioned by a reporter, the U.S. leader dismissed the line of inquiry, suggesting it was an attempt to embarrass a visiting dignitary.
This defense stands in stark opposition to a declassified intelligence report from 2021, which concluded that the Saudi leader approved an operation to capture or kill the Washington Post columnist. A separate United Nations investigation had previously detailed a gruesome sequence of events, alleging that a 15-member team, which included members of the prince’s inner circle, was dispatched to Turkey to carry out the murder.
According to intelligence assessments, Khashoggi was confronted inside the consulate, overpowered, and killed. Audio recordings of the incident, reportedly obtained by Turkish authorities, captured the sounds of a struggle and discussions about dismembering the body with a bone saw to facilitate its removal from the premises. The journalist’s remains have never been recovered.
The crown prince has consistently denied ordering the killing but has acknowledged ultimate responsibility as the nation’s de facto ruler. He has called the event a “painful” mistake and stated that reforms have been implemented to prevent a recurrence.
The victim’s widow has expressed profound disappointment with the U.S. president’s remarks, stating that no justification exists for what she described as a “horrible crime.” She reiterated her desire for the president to understand who her husband truly was and lamented that his body has not been returned to the family.
