Trump Hosts Saudi Prince, Defends Him on Khashoggi

President Donald Trump hosted Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at the White House this week, defending the crown prince against accusations of involvement in the 2018 murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi and dismissing questions about the killing during an Oval Office appearance.

The event marked the crown prince's first visit to Washington since Khashoggi, a Saudi dissident and Washington Post columnist, was killed inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2, 2018. U.S. intelligence agencies, including the Central Intelligence Agency, concluded in a 2019 assessment that bin Salman approved an operation to capture or kill Khashoggi, whose body was dismembered by Saudi operatives. The journalist, a U.S. resident who had gone into self-exile after criticizing the Saudi government's crackdown on dissent, was lured to the consulate to obtain marriage documents.

During the Oval Office meeting, ABC News chief White House correspondent Mary Bruce asked bin Salman about the CIA's findings. Trump interjected, describing Khashoggi as "extremely controversial" and saying, "A lot of people didn’t like that gentleman that you’re talking about. Whether you like him or didn’t...