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Washington — President Trump mentioned Tuesday that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, often called MBS, “knew nothing” in regards to the 2018 homicide of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, regardless of a 2021 intelligence report discovering bin Salman ordered the killing.
“You are mentioning any person that was extraordinarily controversial,” Mr. Trump mentioned about Khashoggi in response to a query from a journalist about his enterprise dealings with bin Salman regardless of the intelligence report’s findings. “Lots of people did not like that gentleman that you just’re speaking about, whether or not you want him or did not like him, issues occur, however he knew nothing about it and we will depart it at that.”
Sitting subsequent to Mr. Trump within the Oval Workplace whereas visiting the White Home, bin Salman mentioned, “Concerning the journalist, it is actually painful to listen to that anybody shedding his life for no actual function.” The crown prince additionally mentioned, “We did all the proper steps by way of investigation, and so forth., in Saudi Arabia and we have improved our system to make sure that nothing occurred like that.”
“It is painful and it is an enormous mistake, and we’re doing our greatest that can by no means occur once more,” bin Salman mentioned.
Bin Salman is making his first go to to the White Home since Khashoggi’s homicide. Bin Salman has denied any involvement, however he informed CBS Information’ Norah O’Donnell in a 2019 “60 Minutes” interview, “I take full accountability as a frontrunner in Saudi Arabia, particularly because it was dedicated by people working for the Saudi authorities.”
The 2021 U.S. intelligence report concluded that “the Crown Prince has had absolute management over the Kingdom’s safety and intelligence organizations, making it extremely unlikely that Saudi officers would have carried out an operation of this nature with out the Crown Prince’s authorization.”
After Mr. Trump’s feedback Tuesday, Khashoggi’s widow, Hanan Khashoggi, directed a message on social media to him, writing, “There isn’t a justification to homicide my husband.”
“Whereas Jamal was a superb clear and courageous man many individuals could not have agreed along with his opinions and need for freedom of the press,” she wrote.
Mr. Trump insisted he has “nothing to do” along with his household’s enterprise dealings with Saudi Arabia, and insisted “they’ve achieved little or no with Saudi Arabia, really.”
Mr. Trump known as bin Salman his pal and praised him as “unimaginable on human rights and all the things else” because the Saudi royal made his first go to to the White Home since Khashoggi’s killing.
As households of victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist assault have pursued a civil lawsuit alleging the dominion sponsored, aided and supported the al Qaeda hijackers, bin Salman has sought to distance the Saudi authorities from the assault.
“I really feel painful about, you recognize, households of 9/11 in America, however you recognize, we have now to deal with actuality,” bin Salman mentioned Tuesday. “Actuality primarily based on CIA paperwork and primarily based on a number of paperwork that Osama bin Laden used Saudi folks in that occasion for one function: To destroy this relation, the American-Saudi relationship.”
Bin Salman mentioned that “whoever buys that” is “serving to Osama bin Laden’s function of destroying this relation.” Bin Salman mentioned bin Laden knew the “robust” relationship between America and Saudi Arabia is “unhealthy for extremism.”
Bin Salman and Mr. Trump introduced Tuesday that Saudi Arabia will enhance its investments of $600 billion within the U.S. to just about $1 trillion.
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