Trump meets with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman

President Donald Trump and Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, his country’s de facto ruler, dodged questions Tuesday about bin Salman’s involvement in the 2018 killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.

“These things happen,” Trump said when asked by ABC News’ Mary Bruce about the killing of Khashoggi, while sitting next to Bin Salman in the Oval Office.

Khashoggi, who criticized the regime, also resided in the United States.

Trump told an ABC News reporter that Khashoggi called claims by families of 9/11 victims that Saudi Arabia financed Sept. 11, 2001, “fake news” after he asked questions about the terrorist attacks and the appropriateness of Trump’s business investment in Saudi Arabia.

“You’re talking about someone who is extremely controversial,” Trump said of Khashoggi.

“A lot of people didn’t like the gentleman you mentioned, and whether you like him or not, things happen,” Trump said.

“But he had no knowledge of this and we can leave it at that,” Trump said, referring to Bin Salman.

“There’s no need to embarrass our guests by asking a question,” Trump said.

Bin Salman has denied ordering Khashoggi’s killing.

However, in February 2021, a month after then-President Joe Biden took office, the US director of national intelligence published a report stating that Bin Salman had approved an operation to capture or kill Khashoggi.

On Tuesday, Bin Salman said: “You know, I feel pain for the families of the events of 9/11 in America. But, you know, we have to focus on the reality.”

“The fact, based on CIA documents and many documents, that Osama bin Laden used the Saudis in this case is to destroy this order for one main purpose. [relationship]”To destroy American-Saudi relations,” Bin Salman said.

Referring to Khashoggi, Bin Salman said: “It is really painful to hear that someone has lost his life, there is no real purpose or legal recourse.”

“And Saudi Arabia was painful for us,” the prince said. “We have taken all the right steps in investigating in Saudi Arabia and have developed our system to make sure something like this doesn’t happen. This is a painful and huge mistake and we are still doing our best to make sure it doesn’t happen.”

Khashoggi’s widow wrote in a social media post directed at Trump before his meeting with bin Salman: “The murder of my husband caused me to lose everything. There is unfinished business left, including the recovery of my husband’s body and the compensation to which I, as his widow, am entitled.”

Hanan Elatr Khashoggi wrote in her post on X: “Just like the families in Israel, I want to recover my husband’s remains so that I can have a proper religious burial.” “And like the 9-11 families, I want financial compensation for the murder of my husband.”

Hanan Khashoggi also told CNN in an interview that it was “very painful for me” to see Trump welcome Bin Salman to the White House.

The prince’s visit will be his first to the United States since Khashoggi’s murder.