"Donald Trump has shrugged off the Saudi regime's 2018 murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi, saying the journalist was extremely controversial and unpopular. The US president made the remarks at the White House on Tuesday while welcoming Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for the first time since Khashoggi's murder and dismemberment in Istanbul by Saudi state operatives. US intelligence agencies later made a formal assessment that the prince had ordered the killing, but Trump insisted on Tuesday that he knew nothing about it."
"Trump castigated the ABC News journalist who asked a question about the murder, suggesting that ABC should lose its broadcasting licence, and describing Khashoggi as extremely controversial. A lot of people didn't like that gentleman that you're talking about. Whether you like him or didn't like him, things happened, but he knew nothing about it, Trump said, referring to the crown prince."
"Trump sought to highlight promised Saudi investment in the US economy which was billed at the start of the White House meeting as totally $600bn, but which the crown prince said at Trump's prompting could ultimately total $1 trillion. Trump confirmed that he intended to sell top of the line F-35 stealth fighter jets to Riyadh, over the objections of Israel and concerns of the US intelligence community."
President Donald Trump publicly downplayed the 2018 murder and dismemberment of Jamal Khashoggi, calling the columnist extremely controversial and asserting that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman knew nothing about the killing. Trump criticised an ABC journalist and suggested the network should lose its broadcasting licence. The crown prince called the killing painful and a huge mistake and pledged measures to prevent recurrence. Saudi officials pledged large investments in the US economy, initially billed at $600bn and potentially rising to $1tn. Trump said he intended to sell F-35 stealth fighters to Riyadh despite Israeli objections and US intelligence concerns. The two leaders discussed Saudi normalisation with Israel linked to a two-state solution. The visit featured state-visit theatrics including soldiers on horseback and a flypast of F-16 and F-35 jets.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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