President Trump defended Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman when questioned in the Oval Office Tuesday about CIA findings that the prince approved the killing of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi.
"You're mentioning somebody that was extremely controversial," Trump said, referring to Khashoggi. "A lot of people didn't like that gentleman that you're talking about. Whether you like him or didn't like him, things happen, but he knew nothing about it. And would you leave it at that? You don't have to embarrass our guest by asking a question."
The CIA concluded the crown prince approved the 2018 operation that killed and dismembered Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate in Turkey, but Salman maintained he had no knowledge of the attack, which he's called "heinous" and "unjustifiable."
On Tuesday, he said that his country has "improved our system to be sure that nothing happened like that. And it's painful, and it's a huge mistake, and we are doing our best that this doesn't happen again."
Trump also dismissed questions about a conflict of interest regarding his family's business ties to Saudi Arabia while hosting Salman as president. He said that he has "nothing to do" with the family business and added that while he helped build a successful business, he "decided to leave that success behind and make America very successful."
The two men touted a deal between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia that would bring hundreds of billions in investment into the United States in exchange for access to key military and technology assets for the Gulf nation.
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