After a reporter reminded Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on the White House on Tuesday that “US intelligence concluded that you orchestrated the brutal murder of a journalist,” Saudi dissident and Washington Post contributing columnist Jamal Khashoggi, President Donald Trump stepped in to explain Khashoggi as “somebody that was extremely controversial” and an individual “a lot of people didn’t like.”
Then Trump rejected the US intelligence discovering, claiming that the crown prince had been unaware of the 2018 killing of the distinguished critic by a workforce of Saudi operatives at a Saudi consulate.
“Whether you like him (Khashoggi) or didn’t like him, things happen. But he (the crown prince) knew nothing about it. And we can leave it at that,” Trump mentioned. “You don’t have to embarrass our guest by asking a question like that.”
That was Trump’s most forceful public protection of the crown prince over the 2018 loss of life of Khashoggi. But it was not the one one.
Since the autumn of 2018, Trump has repeatedly made some extent of selling bin Salman’s denials on the Khashoggi scandal — usually emphasizing the crown prince’s phrases over the findings of the US intelligence assessments that concluded bin Salman performed a central function within the killing. Again and once more, Trump has pivoted to an evidence of why he sees Saudi Arabia as a important ally on the economic system and nationwide safety.
Here is a timeline of a few of Trump’s remarks.
Less than two weeks after Khashoggi was killed on the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, the place he had gone to get paperwork for his upcoming marriage, a journalist asked Trump whether or not the case would change how he handled the crown prince or different Saudi officers. Trump mentioned, “We’ll have to see what happens,” and “I don’t like stopping massive amounts of money that’s being poured into our country” from Saudi Arabia.
Trump mentioned that “there’ll be something that has to take place,” however “first, I want to find out what happened.” And he added: “Again, this took place in Turkey. And to the best of our knowledge, Khashoggi is not a United States citizen. Is that right?” When a journalist confirmed Khashoggi lived within the US however wasn’t a citizen, Trump mentioned “we don’t like” the killing, “even a little bit,” however he added once more that it “would not be acceptable” to reject what he claimed was $110 billion in Saudi funding over the scandal.
Asked in a CBS interview whether or not Khashoggi was murdered by the Saudis and whether or not the crown prince gave the order, Trump mentioned it was not but clear; he added, “We would be very upset and angry if that were the case. As of this moment, they deny it. And deny it vehemently. Could it be them? Yes.” He mentioned, “There’s something really terrible and disgusting about that, if that were the case,” and that “there will be severe punishment” concerned — but additionally mentioned he doesn’t need US protection producers to lose essential Saudi purchases.
Trump wrote on Twitter: “Just spoke with the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia who totally denied any knowledge of what took place in their Turkish Consulate.” Trump additionally wrote that the crown prince mentioned an investigation was already underway, and the president added — and not using a observe of skepticism concerning the legitimacy of a Saudi probe — that “answers will be forthcoming shortly.”
November 16, 2018: Trump asks, ‘Will anybody really know?’
Asked in a Fox News interview whether or not the crown prince was mendacity to him about not being concerned within the killing, Trump mentioned, “I don’t know — you know, who can really know — but I can say this: He’s got many people now that say he had no knowledge.” Trump didn’t identify these individuals. He mentioned moments later, “Will anybody really know?”
Trump mentioned individuals “close” to the crown prince “were probably involved,” and famous that he had simply put sanctions on 17 Saudi people over the case, however added, “At the same time we do have an ally, and I want to stick with an ally that in many ways has been very good.”
The morning after The Washington Post, NCS and The New York Times reported that sources mentioned the CIA had assessed that the crown prince had ordered the killing of Khashoggi, Trump told reporters that the CIA can be talking to him later that day — however claimed, “As of this moment, we were told that he (the crown prince) did not play a role.”
Asked a query (partly inaudible on the video of the trade) associated to holding the crown prince accountable, Trump mentioned, “Well, we’re taking a look at it. You know, we also have a great ally in Saudi Arabia. They give us a lot of jobs. They give us a lot of business, a lot of economic development. … They have been a truly spectacular ally in terms of jobs and economic development.”
November 20, 2018: Trump writes, ‘Maybe he did and maybe he didn’t!’
Trump issued a written statement wherein he condemned the killing of Khashoggi as “an unacceptable and horrible crime” but additionally repeated Saudi representatives’ allegations in opposition to Khashoggi. And he then pivoted to this: “King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman vigorously deny any knowledge of the planning or execution of the murder of Mr. Khashoggi. Our intelligence agencies continue to assess all information, but it could very well be that the Crown Prince had knowledge of this tragic event — maybe he did and maybe he didn’t! That being said, we may never know all of the facts surrounding the murder of Mr. Jamal Khashoggi. In any case, our relationship is with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.”
Trump used a lot of the assertion to clarify that he sees Saudi Arabia as an essential supply of funding and low cost oil and a key companion in combating Iran and “Radical Islamic Terrorism.”
In an interview with The Washington Post, Trump once more described Saudi Arabia as “a great ally” and mentioned he hoped to fulfill with the crown prince at an upcoming G20 summit. Asked instantly why he was taking bin Salman’s denials over the proof gathered by the intelligence neighborhood, Trump mentioned, “I haven’t done that. If you look at my statement, it’s ‘maybe he did and maybe he didn’t.’ But he denies it. And people around him deny it. And the CIA did not say affirmatively he did it, either, by the way. I’m not saying that they’re saying he didn’t do it, but they didn’t say it affirmatively.”
He didn’t clarify precisely what he meant. But every week later, a procession of US senators leaving a labeled briefing concerning the killing from then-CIA Director Gina Haspel said they have been left with little question about bin Salman’s involvement within the killing; Republican then-Sen. Bob Corker, who was chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said he was certain the crown prince “ordered the killing, monitored the killing, knew exactly what was happening, planned it in advance. If he was in front of a jury he would be convicted in 30 minutes.”
A report from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, declassified in 2021, mentioned, “We assess that Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman approved an operation in Istanbul, Turkey to capture or kill Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.” The report continued, “We base this assessment on the Crown Prince’s control of decisionmaking in the Kingdom since 2017, the direct involvement of a key adviser and members of Muhammad bin Salman’s protective detail in the operation, and the Crown Prince’s support for using violent measures to silence dissidents abroad, including Khashoggi.”
January 31, 2019: Trump says, ‘I’m not making excuses for anyone. I believe that was a horrible occasion’
Trump said in an interview with The New York Times that Saudi Arabia is “a country that pays us a tremendous amount of money, creates a tremendous amount of jobs,” then provides of the Khashoggi case: “And Saudi Arabia, I’m not making excuses for anybody. I think that was a terrible event. It was a terrible tragedy. It was a terrible crime.”
Two days after the release of the report of a United Nations investigation into the killing of Khashoggi — which mentioned “there is sufficient credible evidence regarding the responsibility of the Crown Prince demanding further investigation” and mentioned the FBI ought to examine — Trump told NBC that he had spoken to the crown prince that morning however the Khashoggi matter hadn’t come up. Trump then brushed apart the concept of the FBI investigating the killing, saying, “I think it’s been heavily investigated.” Asked by whom, Trump mentioned, “By everybody.” Trump then spoke once more concerning the significance of Saudi purchases of US merchandise.