Trump backs Saudi crown prince over Khashoggi killing despite US intel
S Arefin 
Donald Trump has strongly defended Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman during the royal’s visit to Washington, insisting the crown prince knew nothing about the 2018 killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. His comments contradict a declassified US intelligence finding that concluded the prince approved the operation at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.
Saudi crown prince welcomed at White House
The crown prince, Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler, is making his first visit to the White House since Khashoggi’s murder. Trump hosted him with full ceremony, describing him as a friend and key partner.
Reporters used the visit to press Trump on the killing, which drew global outrage and damaged Riyadh’s image. However, the president brushed aside those concerns and focused on strategic and economic ties.
Khashoggi killing: US intelligence and Saudi denials
Khashoggi, a US-based Washington Post columnist and critic of the Saudi leadership, was killed and dismembered inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in October 2018. Turkish investigators and UN experts later said the murder appeared premeditated.
A 2021 US intelligence assessment concluded that Mohammed bin Salman approved the capture or killing of Khashoggi. The crown prince has denied ordering the operation, while saying he accepts overall responsibility as the kingdom’s leader.
Trump comments: ‘Things happened, but he knew nothing’
Speaking in the Oval Office beside the crown prince, Trump told reporters that “things happened” but the prince “knew nothing about it.” He described Khashoggi as “extremely controversial,” a characterisation criticised by human-rights advocates and Khashoggi’s widow.
Image: Win McNamee/Getty
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Sultanul Arefin 
Suzan Seherin 
